Tears of the Innocents
by A Scary Man
Summary: COMPLETEShadowy forces are orchestrating terrorist attacks around the world and casting blame on mutants. The XMen suspect Magneto is involved, but even they are not prepared for the terrifying sequence of revelations that await them.
1. Prologue

A/N: rating is PG-13 just now, but it may need to go higher as the story gets a wee bit nasty in places later on.

A/N 2: DISCLAIMER: I don't own the X-Men or any of its Marvel characters. I only claim ownership of the following:

Oculus, Gaia, Shapeshifter, Shock, Crusader, Gladiator, Gemini, Aqua, Helios, Vertigo, Cassandra, Atlas, Acceleratus, Phobia, Turtle, Chronos, Recyclo, and any others I've forgotten to list.

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**TEARS OF THE INNOCENTS **

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Prologue:

_Many of you may not believe the story I have to tell. Some of you will simply not allow yourselves to listen. Some of you may find it too improbable to be true. But there will be those among you who will hear my words and listen to what I have to say. It is to that minority, no matter how small, that I address these words._

_How many years has it been since mutants were first introduced into the human population? Certainly more than my own lifetime. When the first mutants were identified they were met with a variety of reactions. For the most part they experienced uncertainty, mistrust, and no small amount of hatred. With nobody to learn from or to use as a guide, they struggled to forge their own place in a hostile world._

_Has anything changed since then? Has humanity's attitude towards the growing mutant population changed at all? Is the world any safer or friendlier a place for a young mutant to grow up in? Is there hope for a future in which there is no strife or conflict, in which both humans and mutants can accept each other and live together in harmony?_

_In a way, humanity's attitude towards mutants is understandable. Everybody fears what they don't understand. Some mutants are born with incredible powers, which could result in the deaths of thousands or even millions if used wrongly. I think that, above all, is what people fear most. We fear that which could harm us if not controlled responsibly. Of course, we fear people using guns, knives and bombs to harm us, but we have police and other authorities to protect us from those threats. There is no protecting force to keep us from the dangers of mutants misusing their powers. That is the first problem we face._

_From the mutants' point of view, things are different but just as bad. Children are born with amazing powers that none of their friends or family share, and naturally this singles them out. Mistrust and suspicion will be their constant companion throughout their childhood and adolescence. What you must realise is that people do not choose to become mutants. Mutation is an accident of birth. We have no more choice over this than we have over who our parents are, or over the colour of our hair, our eyes, or our skin. Hating and discriminating against people because they were born mutant is no different from hating a person who is a different colour from yourself. _

_Once a mutant reaches adulthood, it is already too late to lead anything resembling a normal life. Driven to desperation, many of them will use their powers to protect themselves in any way they can, with disastrous consequences. Their problem is simple. They have nobody to guide them through life, nobody to act as a moral compass and show them which way they should go, nobody to teach them how to control their emotions and to use their powers in a responsible manner. With the mutant population still relatively small, it is unlikely these young adults will have come into contact with anyone else like themselves. They are alone, alone in a huge and frightening world that seems intent on persecuting them relentlessly, simply because they possess mutation, something they did not choose and cannot change. That is the second problem we face._

_I stand before you today as a representative of a group who can provide a solution to both of these problems. Yes, as some of you may already have guessed, I myself am a mutant. I am part of an organisation known as the 'X-Men'. Our goal is to promote peace and coexistence between humans and mutants and put an end to the atmosphere of hate and mistrust that divides our two peoples. We run a school specifically for the education of mutant children and young adults, to provide them with an environment where they can grow up together with people like themselves, without being feared or hated and without having to use their powers to protect themselves from the misunderstanding of those around them. We teach them how to control their extraordinary abilities, and perhaps more importantly, when and when not to use them._

_As I said before, people are afraid because there is nobody to protect them from a mutant using his or her powers to cause harm. We hope to allay that fear. We are that protecting force. We monitor the actions of our fellow mutants around the world, and we are ready to step in and protect innocent life whenever it is threatened by the conflict that exists between our two peoples. We do not claim that all mutants are blameless. It is well known, and unfortunate, that many of our kind do not share our desire to coexist peacefully with our human neighbours. Do not think that all mutants are the same, and that all mutants follow the same beliefs. We are as varied and complex as yourselves. We all follow different paths. Ours is just as I have explained to you. We are the solution to what you call 'the mutant problem'._

_Of course, the obvious question now is: why should you trust us? Why should you trust that we are who we say we are, that we believe what we say we believe, that we will do what we say we will do? Is there any proof of our sincerity that we can offer? Our reply would be: yes there is. We are the ones who developed the cure for the Plague virus. A simple enquiry at your nearest Plague clinic will confirm this. We are the ones who stopped the Plague from destroying all human life on the planet._

_We do not seek gratitude or any kind of reward for what we have done. We ask only that you trust us to bring about a peaceful solution to our current strife. We seek only to live in a world where we and our fellow mutants are treated as an equal part of humanity's ever more varied and cosmopolitan population. To live in peace, without being treated as outcasts, to have the chance to raise our children and make our contribution to society, that is what mutants really want, and it is no different from what the rest of humanity wants. Of course, there are exceptions, but these are to be found in every walk of life. _

_Our only future is in harmony together. Mistrust and suspicion have kept us apart for too many years. Nobody can tell what the future may hold, and surely our only choice is to face it together, hand in hand, human and mutant, one and the other, together – forgetting our differences, concentrating on what brings us together instead of what sets us apart. We cured the Plague because we believe that there is a future worth striving for, a future with peace and friendship between our two peoples. Please listen to what we have to say, and please help us to bring about that future._

_Thank you._

(taken from a draft speech to be delivered to the United Nations by Neil Rosiçky, July 2019)

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_Where there is chaos, we bring order;_

_Where there is anarchy, we bring leadership;_

_Where there is ignorance, we bring enlightenment;_

_Where there is weakness, we bring strength;_

_Where there is doubt, we bring certainty;_

_Where there is conflict, we bring uniformity;_

_Our power lasts through the ages;_

_We are the Eternal Ones._

(source unknown, circa 2019)


	2. Chapter One: The Rosiçkys

Chapter One:

In the darkness on the second floor, a teenage girl lay awake. Cocooned in the warmth of her bed, she watched the luminous hands of her bedside clock as they moved slowly round. She waited and watched, listening to the sounds of her sleeping roommates. It was amazing how loud certain sounds could be when there was no other noise. Her eyes followed the minute hand of the clock until it joined its smaller counterpart on 12. It was midnight. The girl sat up in bed, pushed her covers aside, then slowly and quietly stood on her feet. She listened carefully, making sure that all three of her dorm-mates were sound asleep. The other girls showed no signs of stirring, so she walked across the room to the door, her bare feet making no noise on the carpeted floor. She moved cautiously past the last bed, knowing its occupant to be a light sleeper. Finally reaching the door without disturbing any of them, she carefully grasped the handle, and pulled open the door. The girl took one last glance at her roommates to make sure they were still asleep, then she slipped through the doorway and closed it quietly behind her.

He was waiting for her at the end of the corridor. Beside him was the open door to one of the unused dormitories. She moved noiselessly down the corridor towards him, listening to the sounds of snoring coming from the boys' dormitory across the passageway from the girls'. He took a step towards her as she approached. They came together and kissed, just once, lightly, then he stood aside to allow her to precede him into the empty room. One last glance backwards told them the coast was clear. Both of them knew the danger of being discovered. Not only was this a boarding school, but having their respective parents among the teaching staff made things doubly difficult.

A small, nervous smile crossed her face as he closed the door gently, the two of them alone inside the empty dormitory. Standing beside the bed nearest the window, she suddenly realised how anxious she was. It wasn't the first time she'd been in this position, but she felt this nervous every time. He held her lightly, his hands around her waist, feeling her delicate, willowy form through the thin material of her nightie. Her arms moved up, brushing against his, to slip gently around his neck, holding him loosely, her right hand moving up to caress the back of his head, feeling his wavy hair flowing between her fingers. They came together and stayed together, kissing passionately, feeling the warmth and delicious sensation of their bodies pressed tightly against each other. After a while, through unspoken agreement they moved downwards, still holding on to one another, until they lay side by side on the bed. His hand gently caressed her throat, his fingers seeking out the highly sensitive little flaps of skin at the opening to her gills. She giggled nervously, enjoying the sensation.

"Y – you know I love it when you – when you do that…" she whispered to him.

"Yes…" he replied softly. "I know…"

He kissed her again, his lips brushing lightly against hers, and he murmured, "Are we going to…I mean, are you ready to…?"

She hesitated, then sighed, "I – I don't think so. It – no, I don't feel ready. And it – it doesn't feel right…"

"It doesn't feel right?"

"No, I – I don't feel like I wanna. It doesn't feel right to – to make love when we're not m – married …"

"I suppose you're right. Well, despite the overwhelming temptation, your virtue shall remain untouched for another night."

The girl smiled, "It – it better."

"Of course, you won't be able to hold me back forever…"

She kissed him, "Yes I will…"

"Some day I'll lose control and – "

"Not before we – we're married, you won't…"

He kissed her fondly, running his hand through her longish, downy hair, gently massaging her spine with his other hand. She gave a little sigh of pleasure, and drew closer to him, nuzzling her head underneath his chin, enjoying his warmth and the feeling of comfort and security that his arms gave. He relaxed, warm and contented holding his girlfriend close to him. He felt himself slipping away…his arm around her loosened…

"Hey, we – we can't fall asleep here," she whispered. "If – if we get caught, we – we'll be in _real_ trouble. Somebody might come in and – and find us…"

"We'll tell them we sleepwalked…" he murmured absent-mindedly.

She giggled, "Yeah, but if your – if your mom and dad find us, or – or my parents…"

He made no reply, and she too found herself drifting off to sleep…

Suddenly both of them froze at the sound from outside the room. Footsteps were approaching. They clutched each other and listened with horror as the footsteps stopped outside the door. They looked around the room in desperation, but there was nowhere to hide. The door was pushed open and the light switched on.

"What's going on in here?"

The man in the doorway looked around the room, his eyes finally lighting on the bed nearest the window. The sheets were a little rumpled, but the bed was empty. So were the other beds, and the rest of the room. Strange…he was sure that he'd heard something…

"There's nobody here," he said to the woman behind him. "Weird; I could have sworn that I heard voices. I could have sworn I heard our daughter and the boy…"

"Perhaps you're beginning to hear things in your old age," she said mischievously. "Poor Chris."

He yawned, "Perhaps I just need more sleep. I'm off to bed. I'll see you in the morning, Fliss."

"Yeah, see ya."

He switched off the lights and they closed the door before moving back off the way they had come. A few moments passed, until their footsteps could no longer be heard, then the two teenagers breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"That was close," Gary Rosiçky whispered, as he relaxed his chameleonic camouflage and the two of them materialised back into view.

"Yeah, t – too close," Marina Forrester murmured sleepily, as they both drifted off once more.

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The nuclear missile struck with deadly accuracy and without remorse, giving birth to a gigantic mushroom cloud that measured almost a mile across, and annihilating every living thing within the blastwave radius. Every animal, plant and tree was burnt to a cinder; every vehicle was torn apart and flung headlong by the power of the explosion; every building was ripped from its foundations, broken into millions of pieces and hurled into the air. Every single person – male and female, young and old, human and mutant – was massacred.

And then there was nothing. The landscape lay dark, forbidding, unmoving – dead. Not a soul stirred, not an object moved in what had moments ago been a thriving metropolis. A few fires still burned, and a gentle breeze began to stir some smaller pieces of rubble – other than that, everything was silent and still. And all around hung the invisible murderous force of radiation left over from the nuclear blast – ensuring that this would remain a wasteland for centuries to come.

Here and there were standing piles of stone that could just about be recognised as buildings: here a church, there a school, over here a tenement block. There could have been no escape. With virtually no warning of the missile's approach, there was little chance that anybody had got out of the city alive before the blast. What city was this? It was unfamiliar. Which part of the world had just been obliterated? Which part of the human-mutant race had just been wiped out of existence forever? Had any of these people known what was coming? Had any of them known they were facing their last moments alive? Had tiny, innocent children looked up the sky, seen the missile, and asked, "What's that, Mummy?"? To those old enough to know what was going on, the horror and shock would have been unimaginable. Was there anything worse than the last few seconds before a sudden and imminent disaster, knowing that death was nigh, with enough time to fear it but not enough time to do anything about it?

Annie Rosiçky awoke, jolting upright in bed, the shock and the terror still coursing through her veins and her thoughts. It wasn't real. _It wasn't_ _real_, she told herself. Relief flooded through her, and she lay back in bed. Taking a deep breath, Annie calmed herself. Two more deep breaths, and her heartbeat had slowed down to normal. The fear was over. It had only been a dream. She couldn't believe she was still having nightmares about a nuclear apocalypse. It had been – how long, how many months? – since the genetically created horrors, who called themselves the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, had tried to launch a nuclear missile with the potential to destroy all life on Earth. The Horsemen had been destroyed, and Annie had endured more than a few sleepless nights afterwards. She remembered on countless occasions waking up in the middle of the night shaking with terror, in a cold sweat, dreaming of nuclear desolation and all the terrible things that would have happened if the Horsemen hadn't been destroyed.

She closed her eyes and tried to get back to sleep. It was over. The Horsemen were gone. She had to forget about them and move on. Annie was sixteen years old and had her whole life in front of her. Why couldn't she just forget about the Horsemen? Why couldn't her mind just let go of them? None of her friends had these problems. Did they? She didn't think so. Gemini's past held nightmares enough already, but she was determined not to let any of them take over her life. Cassandra was only concerned with the future, and rarely dwelt on the past. Marina too had enough on her mind as it was. As for the guys, well, Annie didn't spend much time thinking about _them_. Dominic and Vertigo behaved so childishly, especially when they were together; Annie had little time for them. Atlas was different from other people; he cared little for anything other than nature. As for Gary – Annie's younger brother – well, perhaps he was the exception. Perhaps he was the one person who understood the way Annie felt. Really, they were the only two who had had to do battle with the Horsemen, to look into the black hearts of those warped and distorted creatures. It was an experience that had shocked them both to the core, and something they would probably never forget.

Annie shivered. It was too cold. Opening her eyes again, she glanced over towards the window. As she had suspected, one of her room-mates had left it open. Pushing aside her covers and standing on her bare feet, Annie walked over and pulled the window closed. It had probably been Gemini who had opened it; she hated being too hot in bed. It _had_ been quite warm when they had gone to bed the night before, and Annie could see the younger girl now, sleeping with her duvet pushed aside and nothing but a thin white nightdress to protect her from what was now a cold night. Annie reached for Gemini's covers and pulled them over her friend.

Then a frown crossed Annie's face. Marina's bed was empty…and there was no noise coming from the girls' little ensuite shower and bathroom. Where was she? Annie pushed out her telepathic senses. In the room next door she could sense Gary and Marina. They weren't supposed to be there! They were supposed to be sleeping in separate dorms! They were lying close together – _far_ too close for Annie's liking. She knew Marina was too young and too messed up in her mind to begin a sexual relationship. She knew that Gary understood this…but whether it would register in his mind during a moment of passion, she couldn't be sure. Guys could be unpredictable at the best of times. Then she relaxed. Marina was asleep, and Gary was heading that way too. They weren't doing anything they might have regretted later. Reassured, Annie slid silently into her own bed, taking care not to wake the light-sleeping Cassandra in the next one along, and within minutes she too was unconscious.

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Neil Rosiçky took a deep breath as he neared the end of the platform and the machine that stood there. It was a risk. It was always a risk, every time he did this. Was it really necessary? He reflected on this as his hands picked up the helmet. The Cerebro machine had lain virtually untouched since the Professor had died; nobody had been able to use it, but there was obviously no point in removing such a fantastic piece of technology. Neil knew that both he and his telepathic children did not and would never have the level of control Xavier had had over this machine, but still he felt himself drawn to it. He liked to use it at least once every few days, as the Professor had done, just to 'keep an eye' on things. To make sure there were no new anomalies out there, no new enemies that might threaten the existence of life. Enemies like Magneto, like Mindstorm, like the Horsemen.

Except there were no enemies any more. All of the above were dead. Pyro's adoption of Gemini had done a lot to heal the wounds that had been inflicted on his heart, and had, if not destroyed, certainly subdued the hatred he felt for humanity. He still had no time for the humans, but thanks to his new daughter he seemed to have convinced himself that there were other ways to protect mutants, besides simply killing everybody else indiscriminately. And without Gary and the psychotic Recyclo by his side, he wouldn't have posed the same threat as before. Nobody had risen to take his place as leader of the Brotherhood. Most of his former protégés were now students here, at the mansion. Scarab and Mole had left, but Neil knew they had no interest in carrying on the fight without their leader.

So there were no more enemies. Rumours abounded that Mystique was still alive, but she hadn't made any threatening moves since Magneto had died, and didn't seem likely to. Was the world safe? The others seemed to think so, but Neil wasn't convinced. He knew that no mutant could succeed in defeating him or his friends, not while Annie and Gary were around. Any threat, if one were to emerge, would have to rely on stealth, not strength, to cause damage. Subtle cloak-and-dagger type stuff, Gary would have called it. That was why Neil forced himself to take the risk and keep using the machine, because he knew that any serious threat would be one that struck from hiding, and disappeared just as quickly. They had to do everything they could to spot any possible attack before it came, to prevent it from causing any damage, physical or political.

_I'm just doing what I think is best,_ he thought_, I'm just taking the precautions I think are necessary, to make sure we aren't caught out like we were by the Horsemen._

Were there other enemies out there in the world? Of course there were. Just because he couldn't see them didn't mean they weren't there, and it certainly didn't mean he could relax and stop being prepared for the worst to happen. There would always be evil in the world. Evil existed inside everybody. Neil knew it was just a question of how hard you tried to stop yourself from doing what you knew was wrong. It was your actions and decisions that determined what you were. There was no way to destroy evil without destroying the free will of every person who was capable of choosing to do wrong.

There could still be mutants out there, planning the destruction and murder of innocent lives. Neil urged his friends to be prepared to meet these threats at any moment. Some people thought Neil was just being paranoid, some thought he was just being a pessimist. He thought he was simply being a realist. He didn't share the optimism that other people naturally felt. Optimism was illogical. Past experience and his mind-reading abilities led Neil to expect the worst from people. People weren't naturally good. People were naturally evil. Evil was always going to rear its ugly head, and somebody had to be there to fight it when it did. It was foolish and naïve to think otherwise.

Neil had never been able to see the good in people the same way Xavier had. Could he have done all this – founded the school and headed the X-Men – the way the Professor had done? Of course not. For one thing, he simply didn't have the way with people, the way with words, to make people feel relaxed and confident and positive about themselves, the way the Professor had done. Xavier had tamed the angry beast that was Wolverine, given him a purpose and a hope. Neil had failed to do the same with the rage-fuelled creature that was his own son. It was Marina who had tamed Gary.

Gary was the perfect example of the way Neil felt. His son had been brought up in a stable and loving family environment, had had plenty of experience of living with humans, had always been taught to use his powers to help and benefit others – and yet Gary had given into his angry impulses and had run away to join the Brotherhood. Deluded into believing he was doing the right thing, he had very nearly caused irreparable damage to human life on Earth. If that proved one thing, it was that evil was born in people. Regardless of their upbringing or education, a person was not immune to temptation.

The only thing that would go some way towards combating evil was truth. If people could be made to see the truth, then there would be less evil committed through ignorance and prejudice. That was why Neil believed in what the school was trying to do, educating these children and teenagers about the way they should lead their lives and use their powers. That was why he believed in reaching out to the humans and trying to form a bond of understanding between the two sides. There was so much anger and mistrust between humans and mutants, that people doing the wrong thing and people getting hurt were inevitable results. If both sides could be made to understand the other's point of view, and learn to co-exist peacefully…well, it would at least be a positive step.

The Professor had dreamed of the same thing, but even with all his dedication and powers of persuasion, he hadn't seen it come to pass. Part of Neil wondered whether that meant it was impossible. If the Professor couldn't do it…he sighed. He knew he wasn't Xavier. Neil's arrogance had once allowed him to consider himself the Professor's equal – and they had almost lost everything as a result of it. He would never make that mistake again. He wasn't Xavier. He was Rosiçky. He couldn't do the Professor's job; nobody could. And yet, somebody had to. Neil sighed again, knelt in front of the machine, and gingerly placed the helmet upon his head. He knew what to expect, having done it enough times, but he was never quite prepared for the rush of power that suddenly seized his mind and fused it with the telepathic amplifier.

Focus on the mutants, he told himself.

Trying to focus on the humans would have been suicidal. There were too many of them, and the sheer volume of telepathic power involved would have blown his mind to shreds. _The mutants…focus on the mutants…OK, here goes…_

He could sense them now: his friends; his wife; his daughter; his son; their friends; and the younger students. Most of them were asleep; it was still early in the morning. Neil preferred to come down here when everybody else was asleep, as it made it a lot easier to concentrate.

He wasn't exactly sure of the best way to identify potential threats; normally he looked for any mutants who were feeling particularly strong emotions. It might be anger, hate or excitement, in which case it might represent a threat; or it might be fear, sorrow, or pain, in which case it might be a mutant in danger, in need of rescue. It wasn't a foolproof method. Anybody who knew enough about telepathy and about the machine – Mystique for example – would be able to mask their feelings sufficiently to escape detection.

Then he noticed something. It wasn't so much an emotion – in fact, it wasn't an emotion at all – it was some kind of anomaly. At first he couldn't pin down what had happened, then his mind began to make sense of it. A mutant's consciousness had suddenly disappeared from his telepathic scan. That was odd. And, as far as he knew, it was also impossible. Even if a mutant had just died, their consciousness would still linger for a few moments before finally drifting away. Minds could not just snap out of existence. Yet one had. Neil was confused, but told himself to worry about it later, and concentrate on completing the scan. He did so, but there were no other anomalies. He returned his focus to the location of the consciousness that had disappeared, and tried to sense it again. There was nothing.

Pulling off the helmet, he breathed a sigh of relief as the strain on his mind was removed. It was never easy using the machine, always painful, and yet he did it because he had to do it. Because threats and anomalies _would_ appear out there – one just had. Although he didn't know what it was, or if it was even worthy of their attention, at least he did know about it. If it turned out to be a threat, they were forewarned. If it turned out to be nothing, then there was no harm in having been cautious.

Leaving the big round room and taking the elevator to the ground floor, he heard footsteps upstairs. Good. The others would be getting up. He could discuss this with them. It might be nothing. It might be a glitch, something wrong with the machine. It might be his paranoia, his pessimism, his realism – whatever you might call it – acting up again, but it was definitely worth mentioning. He wanted to get to the bottom of this. He didn't like anomalies. Threats that he could define, he could handle, but people always feared what they didn't understand. Oculus was no different.


	3. Chapter Two: At Breakfast

Chapter Two:

It was Gaia who had given him the old photograph, taken just days before the tragedy that had torn into his heart and left him a seething ball of burning rage. Pyro felt an unfamiliar tear on his cheek as he looked at the small picture of the girl he had loved. Angrily he wiped it away, and tried to keep the images out of his mind. Images of Jacqueline, as beautiful and perfect as she had always been, smiling at him – in his mind she was always smiling. She hadn't smiled much in the short time he had known her, but that was all he could remember now, the smiles that had come in the last days when the two of them had discovered love for each other. He could still remember the incredible burst of new feelings that had exploded in his heart when he fell in love with her. He had thought it would last forever, that he could finally be happy. But that, it seemed, was not his destiny. Jacqueline had died, shot in the back by a sub-creature – by a human – and his love had been taken away from him. He didn't remember the towering lust for vengeance, the many times he had cursed and sworn an eternal vendetta on any human who walked the Earth. All he remembered was the love and the loss.

Now, seventeen years later, he had a new love. This however was love of another kind, love of a father for a daughter. He had thought the vast wound in his heart could never be healed, and perhaps it could not, but Gemini was doing her best. In many ways he didn't understand the feelings she had for him. He wasn't her father, hadn't raised her, and hadn't been aware of giving her much attention over the four years she had lived under his care with his other students. He had never expected her to have any feelings for him at all. He had never expected Jacqueline to have any for him either. He had never expected anyone to.

He remembered when he had first encountered Gemini. The ageing Magneto had been asking him to rescue a young mutant who was being held by human researchers. Pyro's instant reaction had been: _why bother? It's nothing to do with me_. Eventually Magneto got sick of asking and made it an order, so Pyro gave in and went. Angry at being ordered what to do, he had burned the research laboratory to the ground along with every human in it. Each time he set one of them alight he imagined it was the monster who had killed Jacqueline. And in a way, it was. Humans were all part of a multi-headed monster, like a huge world-wide hydra, that sought to eliminate mutant life.

During his pyromaniacal rampage he had found the child that Magneto had been so worried about. She was tiny, about nine years old and small for her age, and he found her huddled in the corner of a very small holding chamber. She wore no clothes and there wasn't a single object in the room.

"All right, come on, let's go," he'd snapped impatiently.

The tiny figure hadn't even moved, and he wasn't even sure she was alive. What a stupid waste of time this would have turned to be if the child was lying in there dead. And for some reason, Pyro found himself saddened by that thought. At first he couldn't think why. Why should he care? She wasn't his kid. He had only come here because Magneto had demanded it. If the kid was dead, well, that was Magneto's problem. He was the one who wanted her.

But try as he might, Pyro couldn't quite get that to sit comfortably in his mind. He hated himself for it, but he began to realise that he did actually care. He was actually upset at the thought of the little girl lying dead inside the cell. But why? Death shouldn't bother him. He had seen enough of it – and caused enough of it – in his time. But he had never seen it like this before. He had never seen a tiny child die, wasting away in starvation, without a hope in the world, without anyone who cared if she lived or not. He had never seen a childhood lost, a person who had never been, a young innocent life taken away before it even had a chance to grow and develop.

Then as he entered the room, his fears vanished. He could see her breathing, weakly and almost imperceptibly. He saw her eyes were open, staring at the wall in front of her.

"I _said_ let's go."

The girl didn't respond in any way, and didn't seem to be aware he was even there. He sighed angrily; he didn't have time for this.

"Come _on_!" he'd demanded loudly.

At this the child cringed and tried to curl herself into a ball, cowering into the corner. Pyro stopped. As angry as he was, he saw no reason to upset the child unnecessarily. She was a mutant, after all, and deserved to live.

"I'm here to help you, are you coming?" he said, trying to soften his voice.

Other than trembling with fear she didn't move, but he thought he heard a sort of whimper coming from where her head was buried between her knees. He sighed. This could take forever. He'd just have to carry her. She was tiny and probably didn't weigh anything at all. But he didn't want to touch her. The child's nakedness was making him feel uncomfortable, and it didn't feel right to be touching her when she was like that. Pulling off his coat, he knelt down beside the small girl. As he got closer, she tried to press herself even more tightly into the corner, her tiny arms hugging her tiny legs as if she could protect herself. He noticed ugly-looking bruises and incision marks on various parts of her body, and he tried to ignore them. He didn't want to think about what might have been done to her in the name of 'research'. Putting his hand on her shoulder, he gently prised her away from the wall. She made a weak and hopeless attempt to struggle, clearly terrified at being touched. He tried to soften his grip in the hope of calming her, as he wrapped his coat around her tiny figure. It was the gentle touch and the warmth of the coat that finally got a reaction. She looked up, her blue eyes peering fearfully into his. Her mouth opened but no sound came out.

"Come on, I'm going to get you out of here," he said, in the sort of voice he remembered the adults using at the school, so many years ago.

Then a tiny hand gripped his. The girl's mouth was moving as she tried to speak, but made no sound. She whimpered. Perhaps she had forgotten how to speak. How long had she been kept here like this? Pyro stood, and helped the girl to her feet. His coat hung loosely over her shoulders but it was better than the nothing she had had before. She squeezed his hand tightly, but he wasn't in the mood for that. He just wanted to get out of here and get her to Magneto. He pulled his hand free. The girl swayed as she tried to stand independently, but she lost her balance and fell to her knees. He helped her up again and she fell again – it became clear that her legs had no strength and could not support her. She looked up at him and gave the soft whimper again, clearly appealing for help. His impatience was rising again. He didn't have time to stand here while the girl tried to get her legs to work. He lifted her into his arms and headed for the exit. Contented and reassured, she had fallen asleep in his arms on the way out.

She hadn't woken until they were back at the island, where he'd given her over to Magneto and assumed his job was done. Only it wasn't. It hadn't taken the girl long to regain her strength, and soon she was following him everywhere and expecting him to have time for her. She began to show off her powers of duplication, and often there were two of her running around after him. It was impossible to explain to her that he wasn't going to look after her, that her rescue hadn't been his idea, that he really just wanted her to go away and leave him alone. She still couldn't speak or understand a word. At first he was angry. He hadn't _wanted_ to go rescue her. He'd been coerced into it. And now that he had done so, the stupid kid wouldn't leave him alone and wouldn't take a hint.

But at the same time, he found himself starting to enjoy the attention. Few people had ever had much time for him. Nobody save one had ever really tried to understand him. Nobody had ever respected his desire to be his own man, to do things the way he thought was best. They had always tried to make him change to suit their own ideas. They had always assumed he didn't know what he was talking about. Nobody had really ever accepted him for who he was. In a way, the child's innocent unconditional love was something he had never felt before – and something that he found he could not do without quite so easily. By the time she had started to slowly regain her speech and understanding, he had suddenly lost the desire to tell her to go away. He was so used to having her around that he had almost forgotten what it had been like before she arrived.

She wanted to play together and have fun, to enjoy the freedom she had been denied for so long, so he took her down to the beach and taught her how to swim. He encouraged her to practice using her duplicating power, and showed her how he used his own mutation. It seemed so natural to be spending time with her that he never even thought about how odd it seemed for him, of all people, to be caring for this child. He hadn't thought of himself as her father. She, on the other hand, clearly had done, ever since that first day in the laboratory. One night they had stayed up late to gaze up at the stars, and he had pointed out all the constellations he knew. Eventually they had gotten to Gemini…he couldn't remember which of them had suggested it as a name, but with her duplicating power it seemed perfect. She had called herself Gemini from that night on.

It had taken her four years to summon up the courage to ask him to be her father, and to officially adopt her as his daughter. He'd wanted children. He'd wanted to have a family with Jacqueline. That chance had been stolen away from him. He hadn't hesitated in agreeing to adopt Gemini. The bond of a father and daughter had finally been sealed between them. Even now, at fourteen, the age when children tended to feud with their parents and drift away from them, her devotion to him was still unwavering. She greeted him happily every time they met, and sometimes she would walk up and cuddle him for no apparent reason other than she loved him. In some ways, she was still that tiny little girl he'd first set eyes on that day.

He looked at the picture once more. Jacqueline was gone. There was no way to go back in time and change what had happened. There was no way to send back a warning of what was going to befall her. But if there had been…if there had been some way to accomplish the impossible and travel back to the past…he knew he would have done or given anything to be able to use it. Anything and everything.

-

-

-

If looks could kill, then Marina would have dropped dead the very instant she entered the dining room that morning. As would Gary, walking by her side. From a table in the corner, Cassandra narrowed her eyes resentfully at the pair of them. She hated Gladiator for his lies and his false promises of love. She hated Aqua for stealing away the man to whom Cassandra had pledged her heart and her future. She hated seeing the two of them together, sharing the love and the happiness that Cassandra had had stolen from her. She clenched her fists angrily, and wished there was some way she could act on her feelings, some way she could make them sorry. She wished she was a telepath who could mess with their minds and make them hate each other. Or a telekinetic who could use her power to hurt them. Or somebody like Cyclops who could melt them with a glance. Or somebody – Vertigo, Wolverine, Shock, Pyro, _any_body – who had some way to use their powers to attack. Cassandra hated the uselessness of her mutation. True, it allowed her to see into the future…but she had never foreseen any further than a few minutes in advance, and it wasn't as if she could consciously activate her power, or turn it on and off as she wished. It was spontaneous; when danger was near, she would see it happening before it did. And it wasn't even as if she could change the future. She was shown only what was definitely going to happen. It was up to her to use that information to protect herself. If, for example, somebody tried to hit her in the face, she would only foresee that they were going to try. She wouldn't foresee whether or not they succeeded. All she could do was try to dodge or deflect the attack. It _had_ saved her life on numerous occasions, but still…she just felt so completely useless compared to the others, even the little children.

"Hi," came a voice, as somebody with his breakfast tray sat down across from her.

She glanced up. Helios. What was it he liked to be called? Oh yeah. Dominic. Not that it mattered. Cassandra had no use for human names.

"Hey," she responded dully, without enthusiasm, listlessly chasing her last few flakes of cereal with a spoon.

"Something wrong?" he asked, hearing her tone of voice.

"It doesn't matter…" she said languidly, gazing at the surface of the table without interest.

"OK…oh hey, don't forget it's our turn to help out with the little kids' swimming lesson today."

"Huh," Cassandra muttered, then she raised her hand to stab an accusing finger across the room at Aqua. "Why can't _she_ ever do it? She's the one with the water powers. Can't she ever do anything useful?"

Helios glanced over at Aqua, who sat at the far side of the room between Annie and Gary. _Probably the safest place on the planet for a person to be._ He said, "Well, you know she's got problems, don't you? She can't really interact with the littl'uns well enough."

The foreseer snorted, "She's got problems. That's all I ever seem to hear nowadays. Everybody's got fucking problems. We deal with them instead of making excuses out of them."

Surprised at the uncharacteristic swearing, Helios looked uncomfortable. Avoiding her eyes, picking his words carefully, he answered, "Well, it isn't always that simple. Some problems aren't that easy to deal with. Like this, it takes time."

"What happened to her anyway?"

"Her family died. They were on a boat trip off the Florida Keys. Something went wrong and the boat sank. There was no time for anybody to get to safety. They died, every one of them. Except Marina – she found out she could breathe underwater and she survived. Rescuers pulled her to safety and she found her way here."

"What happened to the boat? Why'd it sink?"

"She doesn't know. I guess they must have hit a rock or something."

"Hmm. What about you, how'd you end up here?"

"My parents died when I was a baby," he said. "I was taken into foster care, and somehow my new parents found out about this place. When I was twelve, the British government started putting all sorts of laws into place to 'monitor the mutant population', as they put it. I was sent here for my safety. I still call my mum and dad every week and talk to them, but we all agreed it was best that I live here. You?"

Cassandra took her eyes off the girl she hated, and looked at Helios, "I was abandoned at birth. My parents – human, of course – had tests done and they discovered I was a mutant. I lived in an orphanage until I was twelve – all the other kids knew I was a mutant, of course, and they did their best to make life a living hell. They told me mutants were scum who didn't deserve to exist; I didn't know any better, so I believed them. Then one day a man came to the orphanage and we were told he wanted to adopt one of us. Everybody was really excited because he was well-dressed and arrived in his own helicopter. He had to be fabulously rich. The human kids all said I was the last person he would want to adopt, and I knew they were right. I didn't even let myself hope. But then he took me aside and said he wanted to foster me. I couldn't believe it; I asked him if he knew I was a mutant. He said of course he knew, he was one too, that was why he was interested in adopting me."

She smiled, "It was Pyro, of course."

"Ah. You mean he's your father?"

She gave a shrug, "Legally, I suppose he is. We don't think about each other that way. I've never had the same kind of bond with him that Gemini has."

"Yeah…I noticed that too. What's the story between them?"

"I don't know. Ask her."

"I don't really know her well enough to speak to her."

"Well, you don't know _me_ either, do you?"

"I suppose not…"

They fell silent. Helios began eating and Cassandra, lacking any appetite, picked at her food, her gaze moving back over to rest on the two objects of her dislike.

-

-

-

Marina glanced over to see Cassandra's look of hatred being directed towards her. The aquatic girl quickly looked down at her plate. Nervous and a little upset, she began tracing little circles on the surface of her empty dish with the tip of her fork. She wasn't sure what her feelings towards Cassandra were. She had felt a little guilty at first when she saw how unhappy the other girl was, but she felt the foreseer's subsequent resentment was out of order. Gary had met Marina first, known her longer, and declared his love for her earlier. Cassandra had no grounds whatsoever for claiming that Marina had stolen him away. Besides, it was Gary's choice. If Gary had decided to go with Cassandra, Marina would have accepted it. She'd have been heartbroken and tearful, but she would have accepted it. Cassandra had been treating her like dirt ever since Gary and the rest had begun staying permanently at the school. She had no right to do so. She was jealous…it was as simple as that…it was so stupid. She should just get over it and leave Marina alone.

"Marina?" she heard Gary's voice.

She looked up, and forced a smile on to her face. She loved him, she knew she did, and she was happy being with him. But at the same time, she found it hard to smile, to relax…her mind was too troubled, too fragile. She was too anxious and too distressed for her mind to be at rest. Her horrific and painful memories were still the dominant force in her thoughts. Sometimes she could make herself think about other things, but she could never really push the memories out, or stop thinking about them. Everything her life had been based on was now lost, and she was trying to rebuild herself from inside. It was not something a teenager's mind was designed to do. Building psychological foundations was something that was supposed to happen when you were a baby. Marina only hoped that she was not forever unbalanced.

Gary's knee playfully nudged against hers under the table, and she instinctively tensed and drew herself in, her smile fading and her gaze dropping to her plate. But then she stopped herself. It was her natural reaction to shy away from the unexpected. She was still relearning how to handle everything that happened to her. Bodily contact made her especially nervous. But she knew how to deal with it now. She smiled shyly at him, and brushed his knee with hers in return. Gary's hand slipped down underneath the table to rest gently on her thigh. She blinked in surprise. No. That was too much. That didn't feel right. That was too intimate when other people were around. She shook her head at him, and he lifted the hand away, "Sorry."

Marina didn't say anything. She was worried. She knew Gary loved her, or at least he _had_ loved her. But he was changing now. He was not the same person he had been when they had first begun dating. He wasn't changing because he wanted to; as far as she knew he couldn't help it. Something had happened – Marina still didn't know for sure what it was; they had never fully explained it to anyone. Whatever it was, it had resulted in Annie and Gary absorbing part of each other. They now shared each other's powers, personalities and even consciousnesses.

It had obviously changed them. She knew that much. Were they acting any differently? Yes. Sometimes. Sometimes they would get mixed up. Sometimes Gary would think he was Annie, or vice versa. Sometimes Annie would wake in the morning, confused and trembling, as their waking brains would get confused, and they would wake up in each other's bodies. It was a strange experience to be speaking to Gary's mind inside Annie's body, but it would only last a few seconds before they got straightened out, and she would be Annie again.

Marina didn't have the confidence to ask them about it – she thought it might be a private thing they wouldn't want to discuss – so she could only go on her own observations. She often watched, trying to draw conclusions from what she saw. But she was worried. If Gary wasn't Gary any more – if there was some of Annie in there too – what did it mean for his feelings towards Marina? Did he still love her? And if Annie wasn't Annie any more, if she was partly Gary, what if her feelings had changed? What if she was starting to share his romantic feelings for Marina? That was _really_ scary. She knew Gary didn't like it much either. She put her hand on top of his, and squeezed gently.

Gary was glad of it. He squeezed softly in return. He too was afraid, afraid of what was happening to him and his sister. It had been happening on and off over the months since the absorption. The first time, it had been one of the most terrifying experiences he'd ever known. He remembered every detail:

-

He'd woken from one of those haunting dreams of nuclear apocalypse, and knew instinctively that something felt wrong. In fact, he was struggling to find something that felt right. Everything felt completely bizarre, and he thought he had to still be dreaming. As he came to full consciousness, he sat up and opened his eyes.

Seeing a nightdress-wearing girl in his bed, he was confused. Why was there a girl in his bed? Was it Marina? He didn't remember going to bed with her last night. This didn't look like his dorm either. And wait a minute…where was his _own_ body? It took another few seconds before the truth finally clicked. The girl's body _was_ his. A female voice gasped in shock from his throat. Small, soft hands moved to his forehead when he tried to put his head in his hands in surprise. Running his hands around the back of his head, he discovered long, straight hair that hung down past his shoulders. Eyes widening, the girl began trembling with sheer terror and gasping in horrified shock.

What's happening? What's happening to me? Why am I a girl? What's going on? How can this be happening? This has to be some kind of dream; this has to be some kind of **nightmare**! Who am I? What's happened to me?

Pushing the duvet aside, she hurried to the mirror to try and find out the awful truth of what was happening, of who she had become. She took one step away from the bed before losing her balance and falling to her knees. Trying to stand, she swayed uncertainly and fell back on to the floor. _What's happening? What's wrong with me? I can't even walk!_ Tears began pouring from her eyes as she started to become hysterical. Fear was destroying her thought processes as Gary's poor mind could not cope with these new experiences. Trapped in a body full of hormones and feelings that she didn't know how to handle, she was awash with terror and confusion. Her body was the wrong shape; it was too small and smooth and she couldn't figure out how to make it work. She began screaming.

Abruptly light assailed her, and she screwed up her sensitive eyes in pain. Still sobbing and shaking, she was suddenly aware of figures around her, hands on her arms, and voices in her ears.

"Crusader? Are you all right?"

"Hey, Crusader!"

"A – Annie?"

The voices and the figures swam around her as she swayed and lost consciousness, blacking out on the floor.

-

The next thing Gary was aware of, he was waking in his own bed, in his own body, as normal. At first he had put the terrifying female experience down to a simple nightmare, but he was soon to discover that this was not the case. The rest of the guys in the dorm were sitting up in bed, looking at him strangely. Somebody had flicked on a lamp.

"What's up?" he asked.

"We were hoping you might tell us, mate," said Dominic. "You were shaking and gasping and trembling all over."

"You OK?" asked Atlas.

"Did you have a bad dream?" Vertigo drawled mockingly.

"I…I guess I must have done."

But Gary wasn't so sure. He stood, slipped through the open doorway and walked across the corridor to the girls' room. Pushing open the door, he instantly saw the three younger girls clustered around Annie's bed. His sister was standing unsteadily on her feet, supported by the others.

"Annie?" he said.

In surprise they turned round, and Gemini squealed, "Hey! You ever heard of knocking? This is a _girls'_ room, do you think we could have some privacy, please?"

"Sorry. Annie, are you OK?"

His sister sat down and blinked sleepily, "I – I think so."

"W – we think sh – she had a nightmare," Marina ventured.

"Was it – um – was it anything to do with me?" he asked uncertainly.

Annie seemed surprised, "Yes. I woke up and…I _was _you. How did you know?"

"Because the same thing happened to me. I woke up and I was _you_. I didn't know what was going on and I screamed for a bit, then I blacked out."

Brother and sister looked at each other in confusion. Gemini made a point of walking over to close the door Gary had left open behind him, after checking to make sure there were no lecherous eyes spying on her from the boys' room. Cassandra had turned her back on him, and was busy glaring daggers at Marina. The water girl avoided her eyes, and sat on the bed beside Annie, nervously crossing her legs.

"I think I know what happened, and why," Annie said slowly. "If I'm right – then it isn't good."

-

That was when they had first become aware of their frightening new condition. It seemed to occur on a wholly random basis. Sometimes they could go weeks without waking up in each other's bodies at all, and sometimes it would happen every morning for days on end. It was terrifying, the worst thing either of them had ever been through. Neither of them knew how to live in the other's body. A guy's mind could not manage a girl's feelings and hormones, and vice versa. Having a body that was a completely different shape from normal also made it nearly impossible to even walk a few steps. They were terrified and helpless until their minds spontaneously switched back to the right body.

The most frightening thing of all was that they had no guarantee they would switch back at all. Sometimes they would switch places for only a few seconds, and sometimes it would take up to half an hour before their minds sorted themselves out and got back into the right person. What if one day they didn't sort themselves out? What if one day they didn't switch back? What if one day they woke up as each other, and were forced to stay that way forever? It was more than either of them was ready to face. There appeared to be no way to control the occurrences. They had tried going to sleep at different times, waking up at different times, sleeping in various different rooms, but nothing seemed to have any effect on the frequency or the length of the body-swaps. There was nothing they could do about it, except hope and pray each time that the change wasn't permanent.

It was ironic in a way. They were having body-swaps because they had absorbed some of each other's life force. The absorption had happened by accident when they were fighting against the Horsemen of the Apocalypse. During that fight they'd both been prepared to sacrifice their lives if it meant saving their friends and family. The absorption had been part of that. They wouldn't have been quite so prepared to undergo the absorption if they'd known it meant the terror of the body-swaps. In a way it seemed worse than dying. It was still losing your life, but then being stuck in another's person life that you didn't want to lead, without any way of getting back to your own.

Maybe it wouldn't come to that, optimist Annie had finally pointed out. Maybe the change would never become permanent. Maybe it was something they would simply get used to in time. It would be a pain, of course, but it seemed like a small inconvenience to put up with in return for the splendid array of powers they shared. And after all, why would the change become permanent? They'd absorbed a bit of each other, true, but only a little bit – only for a fraction of a second – and a permanent change seemed both unlikely and improbable.

Gary wasn't quite so sure. Perhaps he was just pessimistic, but he was convinced the body-swaps were lasting longer and becoming more frequent. Surely it would get to a point where the switch became forever. These swaps had to be happening for a reason. They had to be leading towards some final climax, some permanent change. Didn't they? And that wasn't all. He was certain that they were slowly, gradually changing into each other, still changing day by day. They hadn't just inherited each other's powers. There had been other physical changes as well. Annie was taller, or he was shorter – whichever, there was little real difference in height any more. Annie seemed more muscular, and he seemed smoother and more graceful. Was it just his imagination? Was it just his worries manifesting into illusions? Were they really still changing, into each other, as each day went past? Was that feasible? Was that possible? Who knew? This had never happened to anybody before.

Annie had gently suggested that the two of them spend some time becoming more familiar with each other's routines and functions, to make things easier on the occasions that they did switch. Gary had refused instantly. To him, learning how to be a girl was tantamount to accepting he was going to become one. He wasn't even going to go there. It wasn't going to happen. He wouldn't allow himself to think about it. And neither of them felt comfortable explaining it to anybody else. Obviously they had to tell their dorm-mates what was going on, but nobody else knew much besides the most basic details of the swaps. Should they tell someone? If so, who? Who could help them? Who had ever gone through the same experience? Nobody. Rogue might have been able to help…but she was only familiar with a one-way absorption.

At the end of the day, they could be sure of only one thing: the body-swaps were happening, and would keep on happening until something happened to stop them. But whatever that might be, neither of them had any idea. _Some_thing would stop the swaps. It would have to. They couldn't live the rest of their lives this way! Gary was nervous about going to bed with Marina now, in case it was Annie who woke up with her in the morning. How could either of them ever lead a stable life with this random and unstoppable curse hanging over them? Night and day, both of them hoped and prayed that they would find a way to end the body-swaps, now and forever, before it drove them to despair.

-

-

-

Slouched in his seat at the far side of the dining room, Vertigo surveyed the room lazily, his eyes half-closed as if he was falling asleep. His gaze appeared idle and disinterested, as he seemingly unconsciously rolled an apple across the back of his hand, down the length of his arm and flicked it from his elbow to catch it in his other hand. A group of the younger children giggled and clapped appreciatively. Glancing over, Vertigo surveyed them. Acceleratus, Phobia and Turtle smiled innocently at him; they were always enthralled by the juggling tricks that he could do apparently without thinking.

_Was I ever like that?_ he wondered to himself_, was I ever young and innocent and impressed by such simple little things?_

The kids were watching him intently, hoping he would do some more tricks, and he decided to humour them. Seizing another couple of apples from the bowl in the centre of the table, he proceeded to juggle the three fruits in the air with one hand while looking the other way. He pretended to drop one, but grabbed it just before it hit the floor, then caught the other two on top of it, the three apples balancing perfectly upon each other. The little children shrieked with delighted laughter and clapped once more.

_Yes, I was like that once, _he decided

He simply couldn't understand how the children could get so excited about such trivial things. And it wasn't just the children. He looked over at the table where the adults were seated, watching as they told jokes and laughed, or smiled at each other and looked happy.

_Why do people get happy so easily? What's there to be happy about?_ Vertigo didn't understand it at all. He had never been especially happy in life. At an early age he had learned that there was no point in being excited or happy about anything, because you were bound to be disappointed and saddened soon enough. As a child, whenever he had allowed himself to feel positive about something, another thing had come along just as quickly that had made him feel ten times worse. What was the use of feeling good if you were just going to feel bad the next moment?

People said he was lazy and cynical, and he agreed. What was the point of working hard when everything was pointless and there was nothing worth striving for? Even if you worked hard to build something up, somebody else would tear it down soon enough. What was the point of trusting in the basic goodness of others when it was clear that it didn't exist? People lied, broke promises, and hurt each other. He expected the worst from everyone and everything, and wasn't surprised when it happened. Some people might have been sad when things went wrong, and some people might have tried to make things better. Vertigo did neither. He took the third option. He simply didn't care. Nothing could bother or disappoint him when he didn't care. Life and death, love and hate, peace and war, they were all inconsequential. Nothing really made a difference to a world where nobody could be trusted and everything was guaranteed to go wrong. He had never encountered anything to make him think differently.

At least, not until recently.

"Hey," he heard her saying as she slid into the seat opposite him.

Vertigo glanced up from his slouched position. Gemini offered a friendly smile to the little kids who were still watching and hoping Vertigo would do another conjuring trick.

"What vision of beauty is this?" he heard himself saying in his usual lazy tone of voice.

Inwardly he swore. Damn it. Why couldn't he get his voice to sound anything other than sarcastic? At this rate she'd think he was making fun of her. Why couldn't he express his feelings for her in words? Normally so confident and always knowing exactly what to say, it was an entirely new and uncomfortable experience for him to be so utterly tongue-tied whenever she was around. All he could seem to do was give vague sarcastic comments; he could never find any words that would let her know how much he cared.

"So, uh…" he began, but stopped.

She looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to finish. No words would come. Eventually he just shrugged and slouched lower in his chair, trying to look nonchalant.

_What is wrong with me?_ he thought furiously_, I'm supposed to be cool and confident and uncaring at all times. Why do I always lose it whenever she's around?_

She smiled at him again, and said, "Are you going to eat all of those?"

Startled and nervous, the apples slipped out of his hand. He reacted to catch them before they hit the floor, and gave one to Gemini, hoping she couldn't see how badly his hand was shaking.

"Thanks," she said.

_You're welcome,_ he wanted to say but couldn't. It was as if the commands from his brain were intercepted and deleted before they could reach his tongue. Every night in his room, long after Helios and Atlas and Gladiator had fallen asleep, he would lie awake and try to think of ways he could talk to Gemini, to let her know exactly how he felt. Every night he would be convinced he'd found the right thing to say, but every morning it would fly straight out of his mind whenever he set eyes on her. They had dated once or twice, but that was just after the Apocalypse episode, when everything was crazy and asking her on a date hadn't seemed like such a difficult thing to do. Now that things had settled down and were running on some semblance of normality, his earlier confidence was shot.

He began again, "Gemini, I – " 

He stopped again. _I what_? _I like your hair_? _I think you're beautiful_? _I'd like to spend time with you_? _I think you're the most beautiful girl in the world and you're the best thing that could ever happen to a lazy slob like me and I want to go out with you and hold you and…_

" – I like your hair," he said finally.

She looked surprised, "You like my _hair_? I'm, like, just out of bed and I haven't even brushed it yet."

"Well, I – um…"

He paused once more. His mind had emptied of anything he might have said to her. There didn't seem to be any way of expressing his feelings for her in words. She turned her head to one side and gave him a cute little smile. Maybe she was trying to reassure him but all it did was make him even more nervous. Her gorgeous features were only enhanced when she smiled. He was finding it hard to pay attention in classes now, when all his attention was centred on this girl, and trying to think of a way to start a conversation with her.

"What's wrong?" she asked, giggling slightly at his embarrassment.

_What **is** wrong with me?_ he demanded of himself_, I've **never** felt like this before!_

It wasn't as if he had never fallen in love before. He had once fallen for a girl at the orphanage where he had grown up. He couldn't remember how old he had been, but he did remember finally working up his courage to confess his feelings to the girl. Her response had been short and decisive: "Get real, _freak_!", followed by laughter. He could still hear it in his mind.

"Are you OK?" she asked, still giggling.

He swallowed hard_. OK. Time to just go for it. Just open my mouth and say whatever comes naturally_. A quick glance to the side told him that the little kids had drifted away, disappointed that he was not playing any more tricks with the apples. Good. It was just the two of them.

"Gemini – " he began – _good start, _he told himself sarcastically. "Do you wanna – well – go somewhere today?"

She raised her eyebrows, "Like where?"

"I dunno. How about into town? You said you needed some new clothes, didn't you?"

Gemini looked at him a little strangely, "You wanna go clothes shopping with me?"

"Why not?"

"Well, it's just…that's the kinda thing I'd normally do with another girl. Like, she could help me choose."

He felt some of his usual confidence returning, and he smiled lazily, "You know I have exquisite taste."

Then she said, "Well…OK, sure."

Vertigo let out the breath he hadn't even realised he was holding. He tried to keep the relief and the elation from showing on his face. _Careful_, he told himself, _you're almost happy_. He swallowed nervously, hoping Gemini didn't notice. He needn't have worried. Her attention was now fully elsewhere. Pyro had just entered the room, and Gemini was smiling brightly and waving to him. He smiled in return and nodded to her, then went to sit with the other adults.

"You really love him, don't you?" asked Vertigo.

"Of course I do," she said in surprise, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "He's my dad."

_It must be nice to have a father,_ he didn't say. Gemini stood, depositing her apple core in the bin, smoothing down her nightdress, and said, "OK, I'm going to go have my shower now and get dressed. I'll meet you after our morning classes are done, 'kay?"

"Yeah. We could have lunch in town?"

"Sure, yeah."

She smiled, and was gone. Vertigo watched her go, admiring her small yet gorgeous figure as she turned round to give him a cute smile and a wave just as she left the room. Then he sat back once more. He still didn't know what it was that happened to him every time Gemini was near. He'd heard stories of men losing all sense over a woman, but he'd never thought it would happen to him. He'd always thought he was too cool and in control of things for that to happen. Maybe not. Maybe he was just insane, he thought lazily. Maybe everybody was insane. Maybe the whole world was just a crazy mess, full of crazy people doing crazy things in crazy ways. Was that chaos theory? He didn't know. He didn't care.

-

-

-

"So what do you think it was?" somebody asked.

Neil Rosiçky closed his gold-pupilled eyes for a moment, then said, "I don't know. I can't think of an explanation for it."

Breakfast was the first chance he had had to tell the others about what he had discovered that morning. The anomaly was still bothering him. It just wasn't _possible_ for a consciousness to suddenly disappear like that in the middle of a scan.

"Are you sure you didn't just make a mistake?" asked Shapeshifter dubiously. "Maybe you lost concentration or something."

"I'm sure I didn't make a mistake. If I had stopped concentrating, the machine would have stopped with me. I still only have limited control over it, but it at least obeys my commands now."

"It doesn't make any sense…" Chloe Rosiçky said. "Did the Professor ever mention anything like this?"

Cyclops shook his head, "Not to me."

Nobody else said anything. Then Pyro spoke up, "I know what it might have been. Somebody experimenting with Magneto's helmet technology."

The mention of Magneto's name drew a few uncomfortable glances from around the table.

"Yes…" said Neil slowly. "That could be it. It would certainly explain why somebody suddenly disappeared from my telepathy. Who has access to the helmet material?"

Pyro shrugged, "I couldn't say. I know it's an alloy of different metals and non-metals, and it doesn't occur naturally. Magneto always kept a stockpile of it on the island, but I've no idea where he got it from originally."

"The Professor would probably have known," someone said.

"But that stockpile would have been destroyed when the Horsemen wiped out the island," Pyro went on. "If there's more of it somewhere, then I'm sorry…your guess is as good as mine."

"What about Mystique?" asked Storm. "Is she still alive?"

"So my students claim. I haven't seen any sign of her myself. As far as I know, she killed herself shortly after Magneto died. She couldn't take losing him. I suppose it's possible she could have faked her death and been in hiding these years – that's what my daughter told me anyway – but I can't say for sure."

Neil said, "In that case I'll talk to Gemini. I want to get to the bottom of this. It might be nothing, but if Mystique or anybody else _is_ about to try something – using the helmet technology to shield their thoughts from me – then I'd rather know about it sooner than later."

Cyclops nodded his agreement, "Where exactly did you sense this – anomaly?"

"Glasgow," the telepath replied, adding, "Scotland," for those around the table who might not have known the UK too well. "I can narrow it down tighter once I get there."

"So you think we should go check it out?"

"That was my plan," said Neil. "The only problem is I'm a little busy at the moment. I have classes to teach, and I want to spend time with Annie and Gary and help them practice using their new powers, so I can't really drop things and go right now."

"I'll go," offered Pyro. "I have no duties to keep me here."

The others cast glances at him, some of them suspicious. The less trusting of the X-Men still could not see Pyro as a friend or ally, much less as 'one of their own'. But Cyclops forestalled any argument, "Fine. Bobby and Felicity can go with you."

Pyro didn't argue either, "Fine."


	4. Chapter Three: Terrorist Strike

"All right…now focus…_focus_…"

Gary strained his mind to concentrate on holding the wooden chair motionless in the air in front of him.

"Now concentrate…" came Annie's voice. "Concentrate on turning it…feel the contours of it…feel it in your mind…"

He lost concentration and the chair fell to the floor. Gary sighed impatiently. Annie merely looked at him, "You're doing better now. Just stay calm. You're trying to do things too fast."

"I know…but when I feel myself losing control of it, I react to try and grab it back."

"That's when you're losing it," she agreed. "You're reacting too sharply. Don't _worry_, Gary. Telekinesis isn't easy. It took me years to master it."

"I know, but…I've had it working before. Back when – "

"When we fought the Horsemen. I know. That was different. Your adrenaline and your berserk power helped you on that occasion. Now you've just got to practice until you can get it right."

He sighed, "Yeah, I know. Let's take a break for a minute, OK?"

"Yeah."

The two of them were alone in one of the smaller classrooms. After finishing breakfast they had promised to meet Marina in the gardens, but she had gone to take a shower, which would give them a few minutes here. Marina could be relied upon to take a while in the shower. They knew she loved water; it gave her a sense of calm and well-being that she could never normally feel.

"Why don't you try something?" Gary asked his sister. "Try to camouflage yourself."

Annie nodded. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and focussed. Slowly her body began to change, each cell taking on the appearance of whatever was behind it, until she had disguised herself like a chameleon. Gary nodded, "Not bad. I can still see you, but only because I know you're there."

Annie reappeared, breathing hard, and she sat down on the chair beside him to rest.

"Annie, are you all right?" he asked uncertainly. "You seem kind of tense."

She shook her head, "It's nothing. I just had a weird dream this morning. It's been bothering me a little."

"Your nuclear dream again?" he said.

"Yeah. I don't know why it – ah, I think Marina's ready now."

Brother and sister left the room, and in the hallway they found her, freshly showered and dressed in her favourite T-shirt and mini-skirt. Marina smiled, nervously and uncertainly, when she saw them. Gary put his hands on her shoulders gently and planted a kiss on her lips. Caught a little by surprise, she instinctively pulled away and avoided his eyes. Then she calmed slightly, slipped her arms around his neck and returned his kiss. Annie looked on, happy to see Marina showing the first signs of recovery from her condition. It wouldn't be quick and it wouldn't be easy – she was only setting out on the first steps towards regaining the mental stability she had once had – but Annie knew that herself and Gary would be there for Marina as long as she needed them.

The three of them headed for the front door that would take them out into the gardens. It was a pleasant day, warm but not too hot, and they liked to spend time together in the estate. They walked to the edge of one of the larger ponds, and sat down at the side. Marina trailed her fingers in the water, smiling slightly as the fish darted away from her touch; their sleek, hydrodynamic bodies flicking through the water like she knew her own could.

At the side of the mansion building they could see Atlas, kneeling in front of one of the flower beds, teaching a small group of children how to care for the flowers that they had planted recently. Atlas had always loved the gardens and forests of the estate, even when it had been the home of his enemies. Those times were past now and he was delighted to actually be able to live here in the midst of so much flourishing plant life. On the island he had spent most of his spare time working with his flowers or vegetable garden, and now he was no different; people were amazed at how much simple pleasure he got out of it. The children loved his brightly coloured flower beds, and some time ago a small number of them had grouped together to beg him to run an unofficial class to teach them how to grow their own flowers. Atlas was only too happy to pass on his knowledge, as well as having the opportunity to teach the kids how to look after the environment properly, something he felt very strongly about.

It soon became clear, even to Gary's fledgling telepathic ability, that there was something on Marina's mind. Her troubled and messed-up psyche was never easy to read, but they could sense at least that much. Both of them knew there was no point in prompting her to tell them what it was. They knew it was best just to let her do things in her own time. There was no use in pushing her.

Eventually she spoke, "Um…can – can I ask you guys something?"

"Yeah, of course," Gary said.

Marina began, awkward and nervous as usual, "Well, you know m – my family lived down in Florida, and – and the thing is, I – I wanna go b – back there."

"You do?"

"I h – haven't been back since – since – well, you know. I s – suppose the house is mine now. I – I suppose I've inherited everything. I wanna go back there and – and – um, well, I just do. I feel as if I should try and – and take hold of my life again."

"Are you sure it's a good idea?" said Annie gently. "It could bring back some painful memories."

"I – I know. This is – this is something I've been thinking about for a while. This isn't a spur of the moment thing."

"You mean you want to move back home?" Gary asked. "You want to leave the mansion?"

"I dunno. I – I might not stay in Florida. I might just – you know, go there for a day or two and try to make a decision what to do with my life."

"I thought we were going to stay together."

"Th – that's what I wanted to talk to you about. I – I was wondering if you would come with me. Both of you. I don't know if – if I could handle it on my own."

Annie and Gary looked at each other. Neither of them had any responsibilities here for the following days. Both of them wanted to stay with Marina and make sure she was safe. If she felt ready to reach out and confront her past, then it was a good sign. She was starting to get over it and deal with it. Once they had reached a telepathic unanimity, Gary nodded to his girlfriend and said, "Yeah. We'll come with you."

"We can leave after our classes this morning, if you're ready," said Annie.

Marina nodded. Yes, there was no pressing need for them to be here over the next couple of days. After this morning they had no classes, either to attend or to help teach, and it wasn't as if they were going to have to defend the mansion from attack or anything. Nevertheless Gary frowned slightly. He was still getting used to using the telepathy he had 'inherited' from his sister – out of her four powers it was probably the one he was having the least success with – but he was sure he had sensed something from the adults at breakfast that morning. Something was bothering them…something they had found out…but he hadn't been able to detect anything more than a vague sense of anxiety. He supposed it could be nothing. If there really was an imminent threat out there, he was sure he would have been told.

-

-

-

From a window on the second floor of the mansion, two X-Men looked down on the small group sitting by the pool. Shapeshifter tensed as Gary moved close to Marina, and he was only slightly relieved when the result was a kiss, not the punch in the face he had been half-expecting. He knew that the boy claimed to love Marina, but ever since Gary had left to join the Brotherhood, Shapeshifter was not the only X-Man who still couldn't trust him. Gladiator was only a child, of course, but there had been an anger and a hatred driving him that had made all of them uncomfortable.

"I hope we're not making a mistake over this, Felicity," he said darkly.

"I know, Chris, so do I," said Shock. "But sometimes you've got to take a risk. Sometimes you've got to give people a chance."

"Huh. You don't seem to realise that all it takes is one moment of madness from him, and our daughter could be traumatised again, possibly for the rest of her life. You know how well she's been doing recently, how much progress she's been making in terms of recovery. I just…" he sighed. "…I just don't want to risk her losing all the mental healing she's done. I think she should wait until she's recovered before she starts dating. Especially with _him_."

"Chris, we can't cotton-wool Marina all of her life. If she gets too accustomed to that kind of smothering protection, it will do more harm than good. She needs to learn to look after herself. Besides, she has the right to make her own choices. And don't forget she's one of us now. She's – well, she's an X-Girl at least."

He sighed angrily, "All the same, I think it's too much of a risk. You know how dangerous it can be at their age. What if she's careless and she ends up pregnant? Have you any _idea_ how much damage that could do to her mental health?"

"Yes, I have. And I won't pretend that the possibility doesn't frighten me. But Marina isn't as spineless and easily dominated as you seem to think. If she doesn't like what Gary is doing to her, she won't stand for it. She isn't the kind of girl who'll stay with a guy who abuses her. Besides, Annie will know if things are beginning to spiral out of control. She can keep Gary in check."

Shapeshifter was not in a positive frame of mind, "I seem to recall that her record of 'keeping him in check' is not that good."

"Perhaps, but things are different now. Don't worry about it, Chris."

"Worry?" he said sarcastically. "Fliss, our daughter is dating a person who has tried to kill both of us in the past. What could I possibly have to worry about?"

Shock smiled, and reached up to give him a little kiss on the cheek, "She'll be fine."

Touching his arm lightly, she left to go and begin preparing material for her first class of the morning. Shapeshifter continued to watch the three teenagers in the garden below. As much as he wanted to trust Gary and believe that Marina was in no danger, his fears would not quite leave him. Perhaps it was just the natural reaction of any father seeing his daughter dating. Although he was only Marina's foster parent, he still had the strong protective instincts of any good father. She was the daughter he had always wanted, but he'd never found a woman to settle down with. As a child at school, before he discovered his mutation, he had always been popular with the girls. His sharp wits and tough-guy image had ensured he was never without female appreciation. That had all changed when he found out he was a mutant. As he saw how the world reacted to him and his kind, Chris' outlook on life started to change. He grew bitter and cynical, beginning to realise how shallow people were, how they only judged others on outside appearance. People being hated simply for being mutants was proof of that. And that was what Chris was striving towards now, to teach and encourage people to look beneath the surface and judge others on what really mattered. Prejudice and ignorance had to be overcome. His dream was to one day live in a world where people were judged not on what they were, but on who they were and what they did.

Was he guilty of doing exactly that with the boy? He wondered. Was he judging Gary simply on the fact that he was part of the Brotherhood? Should he be making more of an effort to look under the surface? There was obviously something about him that Marina liked. Hence there had to be something positive about him. Was he really as unstable and corrupted as Chris and some of the rest had thought? Or was he, as Fliss thought, simply a troubled and confused teen, whose uncertainties had been preyed upon and twisted by the manipulative Pyro? Whichever, Chris didn't want the boy anywhere near his daughter. Marina had already been through enough suffering in her short life, without the boy making it even worse. He worried that Marina too might only be judging Gary on the surface, admiring his good looks and overwhelming strength, failing to see through to the boy's dark interior. Would she realise before it was too late? Would Annie be able to intervene to prevent her brother from hurting Marina? Chris didn't know. He was leaving the matter to Felicity's judgement, and hoping that she was right. If not, it could mean the end of any possible recovery from Marina's mental trauma.

-

-

-

One of the few things which all of the teenagers could agree on was which of their classes was the most boring. Ethics and Philosophy, taught by Annie and Gary's father, was something that all eight of them dreaded all week long. The only good news was that it was only held once a week. Vertigo swore he had once genuinely dropped off to sleep during this class, and to all intents and purposes he appeared to be heading that way now, slouched low in his chair with his eyes barely open a crack. He was thinking about Gemini, looking forward to spending time with her later in the day. For about the first time in his teenage years, he was actually excited at the prospect of something. He'd been dreaming about the girl for so long, but his cynical and negative attitude hadn't allowed him to realistically believe he'd ever get to properly date her. It still seemed too good to be true. It seemed like the kind of thing that usually started out so well but then fell disastrously apart. He hoped this would be the exception to that rule.

Gemini herself sat at the desk beside him, her chin resting on her hands, her eyes staring unseeing in front of her as she daydreamed about swimming in the ocean, feeling the water rippling about her, feeling the complete freedom of being able to move in any way she wanted, free from the pressures and the restrictions of everyday life. She had learned to swim on the island with Pyro. He'd taught her the basics, and the rest had come with practise. She had taken advantage of every opportunity she'd had to get into the water. She enjoyed the extra sensation of freedom that came with skinny-dipping, and had felt no embarrassment when only Dad was around. It became more difficult as the island began to fill up with Dad's new recruits, particularly the guys. In some ways she missed the early days, when it was just her and Dad. It had been so nice to live alone on the island with him, and pretend that there was nobody else in the world, that it was just the two of them. She smiled as she thought of Pyro. He had given her everything, including her freedom and her second chance at life. She knew she'd never be able to repay him, and she knew she'd always love him and look up to him, regardless of how old and how independent she became.

Atlas' mind was also safely elsewhere, alternating between planning further cultivation of the estate, and planning the next lesson for the little kids' Flower Club. He was glad he had the opportunity to teach the kids about the importance of preserving natural life. The planet's life and vegetation would only survive if each successive generation could be brought up to learn to respect it. Humans continued to rape and pillage the world's natural resources on a daily basis, without seeming to realise it wouldn't last forever. So much damage had already been done, but Atlas was determined to do everything he could to stop it going any further. He was slowly coming round to the X-Men's way of thinking, i.e. that exterminating the human race wasn't the way to go about achieving his ideals, yet he was still prepared to risk human life if it was necessary to preserve plant life.

Cassandra was busy deciding on the name she would give to the child she desperately wanted to have some day, and whether she would rather have a son or a daughter. But hey – why stop at just one child? She adored spending time with the youngsters at the school and helping to care for them. The adults had been amazed that such selfless love and dedication to the children could be found in somebody so young. Cassandra wasn't yet fifteen, but she was almost a mother figure to some of the little kids. But as much as she enjoyed caring for them, at the same time she knew it wasn't enough. Cassandra wanted her _own_ children, to love and to care for and to plan a life for. Looking after other people's children couldn't compare to the wonder she knew she would feel when she had her own babies. It was the most important thing a person could do. In the end it didn't really matter what we did in the time we had on this world. The only lasting positive change anyone could make was to have a child and bring it up to carry on the good things we had tried to do in our own lives.

A ray of sunlight shone through the window, and Dominic idly angled the palm of his hand so that the light reflected on to the desk in front of him. His mind automatically began to consider prank possibilities. Despite being nearly seventeen and one of the older teenagers, he was still the archetypal class clown. He liked nothing better than raising a laugh amongst his peers, and certainly could not be accused of taking life too seriously. The super-reflective skin cells on his palm acted exactly like a mirror, rebounding the light perfectly, directly off in another direction. As he moved his hand, the angle of reflection changed, and the reflected light beam moved across the room. He could shine it in the teacher's eyes and try to distract him. Or he could curve his palm and focus the sunlight into a thin laser beam, then use it to cut through something. Perhaps he could burn a small hole in the wall, and see how long it took the teacher to notice. Unfortunately, before he could finish his plotting, a cloud moved over the sun and the ray of light was gone.

Annie and Gary were trying their hardest to pay attention and look interested, since it _was_ their dad who was teaching the class, but their collective consciousness was beginning to drift. Gary was thirsty and Annie was dying for a nice, long, cool shower. Neither of them was a great lover of the hot, humid North American summer. Their thoughts and feelings mingled and intertwined, and for a moment there was confusion: Gary wanted a shower and Annie was thirsty. A second later, things were straightened out once more. Again they tried to concentrate on the lesson, but again they drifted.

Even Marina, who rarely showed much emotion and who took their classes more seriously than most, was starting to sigh and wish she was out in the swimming pool. The room was hot and stuffy, and she was short of breath, her lungs struggling to cope. Since discovering her mutation, Marina had come to realise her body was actually much better suited to life underwater. She found it much easier to breathe, move or sleep when submerged. Above water she felt clumsy, uncomfortable and nervous in an environment she obviously wasn't designed for. Sometimes she thought she was like a fish out of water. She liked fish. She envied them their simple lives: swimming forever beneath the waves, without worry or trauma to tear their minds apart like hers. The notes she had started taking at the beginning of the class were now degenerating into little doodles of fish. Her pencil moved lightly, fluidly across the page, leaving behind the images of her mind's eye.

" – are you paying attention?" Neil Rosiçky suddenly asked, the rising tone of his voice penetrating their wandering minds.

All eight teenagers looked up a little guiltily. None of them could be sure which of them he was talking to. None of them wanted to incriminate themselves by asking.

_I think he's talking to you_, Annie telepathed to Vertigo.

"Well?" their teacher said.

"Yeah, I'm listening," the boy lied.

"So what did I just say?"

"You said that evil isn't a force to be combated; it's a potential that exists in all of us."

Dominic and Gary both fought to keep a straight face. Every one of the teens knew that Vertigo hadn't been paying a blind bit of attention, but somehow he had an ability to absorb what was being said nonetheless. Was it an extra mutation of some sort? They could only wonder.

"What about you, Dominic, were you listening?"

"Yeah."

"So what was I just talking about?"

Dominic hesitated, "Uh, whatever Vertigo just said."

The class giggled. Neil sighed. He didn't have much of a sense of humour in these circumstances. He struggled to relate to children or teenagers, and became disappointed when they showed little interest into what he was trying to teach. Ethical studies was important and they didn't seem to realise. They were probably too young to appreciate its value, but the problem was that once a person was grown, they were too old to be taught this.

"All right, since I'm obviously boring you, we'll try this a different way. Alexandra?"

Gemini wasn't used to responding to her given name, and she was still locked in her daydream about swimming. Vertigo had to nudge her gently under the table to get her attention.

"Wh – what?" she said in surprise.

Neil looked at her, "What do you think evil is?"

She blinked as she collected her thoughts, then replied, "Well, it's like, what makes people do stuff they shouldn't, right?"

"So where do you think it comes from?"

"Um – I guess it's the opposite of good, isn't it?"

"But where does it come from?"

She frowned, "Are you talking about the Devil? I don't believe in that religious stuff."

The answer was also a challenge. She knew, as they all knew, that the Rosiçky family _did_ believe in 'that religious stuff'. She was making it clear that, if this class was going to turn into a discussion about religious teaching, she wasn't interested. Rosiçky answered, "No, I'm not talking about the Devil. There is no such thing. It's a popular misconception among many Christians and other religious groups. No, there is no evil force out there that tries to control you. As I said, evil exists as a potential inside you. Because we have free will, we have the option to do good or to do evil. Our conscience tells us to do what is right, while temptation tells us to do what is wrong. It's the outcome of this conflict that makes us the person we are. Of course, it's tempting to think of the conscience and the temptation as somehow being real beings who try to influence us, but that only leads us to feel as if we're not responsible for our actions. Remember, if you do something, it's because _you_ chose to do it. Not because you were coerced into it by some evil demon sitting on your shoulder – "

"I have a question," Alexandra interrupted him.

Neil disliked the sudden interruption, but he made no complaint. Alexandra – or Gemini, as she preferred to be called – wasn't the easiest pupil to teach, but at least she had a genuine desire to learn. He didn't want to discourage that by telling her off for asking a question.

"What is it?" he said.

"You're a telepath, right? What happens if you go into someone's mind and, like, make them do stuff? How does that fit in with free will?"

"Well, as I said, you can't blame your actions entirely on outside influences. Telepathy isn't unblockable. If you want to know how to block it, ask your father."

"Yeah, I think I will."

She thought: _because the last thing I want is **you** poking around in my mind and looking at my private feelings. If Dad can teach me how to block it out, I'll be a lot happier_.

The clock had just reached the hour, and Neil said, "OK, we'll finish here for today. For next week I want you to write an essay about a person who inspires you and why. Role models and inspirations are very important templates for you to build your life on, and I want to explore these next time."

The class uttered a more or less collective groan at the prospect of the essay, and left the room as a group. Once they were outside and safely out of earshot, Vertigo gave an exaggerated yawn, "Man alive, that was boring. I could have fallen asleep in there."

"You practically _did_, mate," Dominic retorted. "All you needed was a pillow and blanket."

"Good idea, I'll bring those next time and see what old Rosiçky says."

"He'll stare at you through those unblinking gold eyes and pronounce on you a punishment so hideous that – "

"Hey, less cheek to my dad," said Gary.

Cassandra glared at him, "Does Oculus _have_ to put us through this tedious crap? I mean, does he think we actually care? We're teenagers. Philosophy and that good-and-evil shit is for old men…old men with beards and nothing better to do."

"_I _think it's important," Marina said softly.

"Well, who cares what _you_ think?"

Marina said nothing. She moved closer to Gary, falling into step beside him, and slipped her hand into his. This annoyed Cassandra far more than any verbal retort could have done. The foreseer glared at Marina furiously and muttered, "Whore," not entirely under her breath.

An uneasy silence fell. Atlas eventually broke it by asking the group, "What are you all going to write your essay on?"

"Hell knows," Vertigo shrugged. "I won't be worrying about it until, oh, about half an hour before it's due in."

Dominic grinned, "Likewise."

"If it's about a role model, I'm going to write about my dad," Gemini said.

"Good idea," Vertigo said. "Hey, let's _all_ write about Pyro. That ought to piss old Rosiçky off."

Atlas, Cassandra and Gary laughed and began nodding in agreement. Annie shook her head disapprovingly, and Marina did the same.

"You really ought to take classes more seriously," Annie said.

"Why? We're only young once," Vertigo retorted. "I'm going to the computer lab, anyone coming?"

"You can't do that, we've got combat training now," Gemini told him. "You'll be late."

"Yeah? When I start to care, I'll let you know."

.He disappeared round the corner that led to the lab, while the rest of them moved on to the gym.

"Moron," Marina said, but quietly so nobody could hear.

-

-

-

Felicity Arkwright looked up from the papers on her desk as she saw a figure appear in the doorway of her office.

"Shock," Pyro said, looking a little uncomfortable.

"Hey John," she greeted him, smiling to try and put him at his ease. "What's up?"

"I was wondering if we could talk. You're not busy, are you?"

"Not really."

"What are you doing?"

Fliss glanced down at the paper in front of her, "Actually, I'm grading your daughter's math test."

"Yeah? How's she doing?"

"She's doing good. She's a bright kid. Did you give her lessons or such on the island?"

He shrugged, "Not really. I mean, if she asked me something I'd teach her what I could, but we didn't have proper classes or anything."

"Does it feel strange for you to be living here?" she asked. "I mean, it wasn't that long ago that we were trying to kill each other."

"It feels…different. Previously I was fighting against your people because I wasn't afraid to die. I didn't have anything to live for, so I was ready to take foolish risks. I didn't care about the consequences of my actions. I didn't care who got hurt, because there was nobody I loved and nothing I valued. Now that's changed."

Fliss nodded silently. He went on, "Now that I have a daughter, I'm more careful about what I do. I'm not quite so prepared to put my life on the line, because I know she's depending on me. And even if my own life is wasted and I can never be happy, I've got something to live for: Gemini's future."

"She certainly reminds me of you in a lot of ways," Fliss giggled. "Anyway – you wanted to talk to me about something?"

He hesitated, then said, "What do you remember about Jacqueline?"

Felicity took a moment before replying. She knew this was a delicate topic. She knew John was still mentally scarred by the death of the girl he had loved. She didn't want to say anything that might hurt him or anger him.

"I guess I don't remember much," she told him. "It wasn't until she was freed from Mindstorm's influence that I really came to know her."

"Yes, the same is true for me. I knew her for only a matter of days…and yet it felt as if we had been together for years. Do you believe in soul-mates?"

"I wouldn't know. Why did you ask me about her?"

"I don't know. I just thought it might help to share my memories with somebody else…I thought maybe the problem was that I was keeping everything bottled up inside of me."

"I think it does help to talk."

"You know, the pain has never lessened over the years. I don't know if I expected it to. It still hurts as much today as it did the day it happened."

"You need to be strong, Pyro. Strong for your daughter. As you said, it isn't us who matter now. It's our children."

-

-

-

"Well – what do you think?"

Vertigo looked over as Gemini emerged from the fitting room. She turned on the spot to show him the dress she was trying on, and looked at him expectantly, waiting for his opinion of it. Vertigo thought Gemini looked stunningly beautiful, and he said so.

"Oh, you're impossible!" she sighed, but smiled at him. "I need your help to choose a new dress and you keep saying they all look perfect!"

He shrugged, "I think you look great in anything."

"Ah," she said. "See, this is why I always go clothes shopping with girls. They can tell me how good the dress looks on me, not the other way round. Come on now, help me out here. Which do you like best? The black one, the white one or the blue one?"

"The white one," he said finally. "I don't think black is your colour. And you already have a blue one."

"Hmm…OK," she said. "I'll buy the white one. Watch my stuff while I change back, OK?"

She disappeared back into the fitting room. Vertigo slouched in the chair by the wall, and surveyed the interior of the clothing store. The clothes sold here were obviously aimed at teenage girls, and he realised he was the only male in the place. On a normal day he would probably have found this deadly boring, but at the moment he was happy just to be with Gemini. He heard her humming a little tune as she changed out of the white dress and into her own blue one, and he tried not to think about the fact that she was probably wearing only her underwear right now, just a few inches away from him. Across the store, a couple of pretty girls caught his eye, and they smiled at him. Cynically he regarded them, and didn't smile back.

_Humans.__ Scum. I wonder if Pyro is still looking for another way to try and wipe them out. We almost succeeded with the Plague. If only it hadn't suddenly mutated and started killing **us** as well. I wonder if Pyro really intends our alliance with the X-Men to last. Is he going to break it off as soon as he comes up with another plan? I hate to say it, but it really seems as if he's given up. All he seems to care about is being Gemini's father. I don't want to believe it, but he just seems to have lost interest in cleaning up the human filth._

He sighed. _What does this mean for me? If Pyro **has** given up, what does it mean for the Brotherhood? Should I take command? I've been thinking about this for some time. He's never really appointed a second in command, but I'm the one the others look up to. If he's given up the fight, does that make me leader? Should I declare myself in command, and break off the alliance? It would be risky. I don't even know which of them are still loyal to our cause. I don't know if they've had their minds poisoned by the X-Men. And I don't particularly **want**__to be leader – it sounds like too much work – but somebody has to do it._

_No. Pyro hasn't given up the fight. There's no way that could have happened. He must be simply taking his time, seeing how things pan out, and trying to think of a new plan. I know how much he hates the humans. There's no way that could go away. Whatever it was he lost all those years ago, it's not going to come back. He isn't going to change. He's still loyal to our cause. Yes. And I have to be loyal to him. Maybe I will be leader one day, but not today. I'll never leave the Brotherhood. I'll never stop hating the scum, the sub-creatures. I've never told anybody why it is I feel so strongly about it. Not even Pyro knows what happened to me, back then…_

He sighed, closed his eyes, and tried to block out the memories.

"Hey? You awake?" came Gemini's voice, as she playfully shook him.

He looked up at her, "Yeah. Just thinking."

"Well, quit thinking and start walking. I'm done here. I got the dress you liked. Let's go."

They left the store together. Innocently she slipped her hand inside his, and smiled up at him. Vertigo pushed away his troubled thoughts and doubts, and smiled back, squeezing her hand. She hesitated slightly as they stepped on to the street outside. After her previous experiences as part of the Brotherhood, Gemini was not particularly comfortable around humans, especially in large numbers. She walked close to Vertigo, instinctively drawing near to him for protection. Given her traumatic childhood, she found it very difficult to convince herself that the humans – or the majority of them, anyway – meant her no harm. She was, however, coming to terms with what she and her friends had been doing to the humans previously.

_We were killing them_, she thought to herself, _we only wanted to protect ourselves, but it was the wrong way to go about it. I see that now, and so does Dad. We'll never like them as much as the X-Men do, but at least we know some of the sub – the humans – are all right._

Gemini pressed tightly against Vertigo as a particularly large human speaking loudly into a mobile phone walked past. Feeling her body against his sent a ripple of excitement throughout his system. It had been an entirely innocent manouevre; she had simply been getting out of the human's way, but it had aroused him in a way he had never known before. The cute little blue dress that she seemed to wear all the time was short enough to draw attention from most of the other teenage guys they walked past. Vertigo found himself the target of more than a few jealous glares.

She grabbed his arm and said, "Hey! Let's go in here! I want to look at shoes!"

But before either of them could make a move to the shop she was indicating, a sudden surge of the crowd swept the two teenage mutants off their feet, knocking them to the ground. Vertigo bounced back to his feet like a spring, and helped Gemini grab hold of her bags, which had been spilled when she'd lost her balance. The crowd were still pushing towards them, and it was clear that something was driving this stampede. Gemini was knocked off her feet once more, but Vertigo managed to keep her from falling, and the two of them drew close together in the partial shelter provided by a bus stop. The melee of folk continued to swarm around them, heading away from – or towards – whatever was causing the rush.

"What's going on?" Vertigo asked, as a couple of people began to scream.

"I don't know!"

But then they made out what the people were screaming, "Terrorists! Terrorists! They've got a _bomb_!"

Through a gap in the crowd they could now see where a white van had driven into a lamp-post and fallen on its side. Crouched behind were two men with automatic weapons. A third was also there, his head down, his attention centred fully on whatever lay before him. Was it a bomb?

"What do we _do_?" Gemini hissed, clutching his arm.

"I don't know – depends what _they _plan on doing."

One of the terrorists raised his weapon and fired into the crowd. People screamed and began to run faster. A young man was hit in the leg, and he fell to the pavement, screaming in pain. His friends grabbed him and pulled him to safety. Over the sound of the screams and gunfire came another sound: sirens. The terrorist fired into the crowd a second time, and a high-pitched shriek told them that someone else had been hit – it sounded like a woman or a child. Another voice began screaming, this one closer to hand, and as they looked they saw the terrorists had captured a bystander. A girl, in her teens, was being forced down on to her knees, an automatic weapon being held against her forehead. Her initial screaming and struggling was shocked out of her as the gun pressed into her temple, and she was now silent and still, sheer terror clearly overwhelming her.

"She's going to get killed if we don't do something!" Gemini hissed. "The police aren't going to get here in time!"

Vertigo forced himself to keep calm, "I know. All right, here's what we'll do. You distract them, and I'll disarm them."

"OK. Be careful!"

"I will."

He moved off, keeping under cover, heading as close as he dared to the white van. He could still hear the gunfire, but there were no new screams of pain. Hopefully the terrorist hadn't hit anyone that time. Glancing out from behind the car he was using as a shield, he saw Gemini moving into action. Her summoned twin was hurrying towards the white van as fast as she could run, and the terrorists had spotted her. It was time to move. Two of the men – he could now see that they were of Middle Eastern origin – brought their guns to bear on the running figure. The third man was still covering the terrified hostage. What they planned to do with the girl wasn't entirely clear. Presumably they intended to threaten to kill her if the police got involved. While their attention was distracted, Vertigo was crouch-running around behind them. Gemini's twin was flung to the ground as her body was mercilessly raked from head to toe with bullets, collapsing behind a car.

Vertigo took his chance. Running towards the van, he jumped into the air and somersaulted over the vehicle, kicking two of the gunmen in the face as he came down. One of them recovered quicker, and swung the weapon round to aim at Vertigo's heart. The young mutant's feet had barely touched the floor before he jumped again, spinning his right foot round to kick the weapon away from the man. The second gunman had lost his rifle and was slashing with a long-bladed knife. Vertigo was blinded for a split second as the sunlight was reflected off something on the man's shirt. The ninja mutant dodged to one side to avoid a clumsy swipe, then drove his fist into the man's face. The terrorist slumped backwards, unconscious, but the first gunman was reaching for his fallen weapon. A simple punch to the head would have sufficed, but Vertigo always liked to do things impressively. Flipping upside-down, he kicked the man in the chest, sending him flying into the side of the van, then landed on his splayed hands and flipped back upright. Neither gunman was moving. He allowed himself a triumphant grin, a split second before realising his error. There had been three terrorists, not two. He turned, not fast enough to stop the third terrorist, the one who had been holding the girl, picking up one of the fallen rifles and training it on the boy's heart. The terrorist sneered, a shark-like smile, and his finger tightened on the trigger.

Gemini knocked the weapon out of his grasp, and drove her small fist into the terrorist's jaw. It wasn't enough, and the man was scrabbling desperately for some kind of mechanical device that he must have been working on. Both of the young mutants had learned how to make bombs from Pyro, and an instant glance told them that this one was fully armed and only needed to be triggered. The mechanism itself was only a detonator – the explosive itself had to be inside the van. The one remaining terrorist's fingers were clawing at the device as he reached for the switch. Clearly this was someone who was willing to be a suicide bomber. It was Vertigo who reacted the fastest, diving to push the man's arm away from the bomb. An elbow into the back of his neck knocked the would-be suicide killer unconscious, and Gemini promptly disarmed the explosive. Vertigo exhaled with relief. He checked the three terrorists, none of whom were moving. Gemini was making sure that the bomb was safe. The girl who had been a hostage was looking over at them, still on her knees and clearly just getting over the shock of what had happened to her.

"Are you OK?" Vertigo asked, reaching down to help her stand.

Still scared, she clutched him, and her voice came giddy with excitement, "I always knew my hero would be handsome…"

He gave a cynical laugh, "I'm no hero. I'm just a guy who happened to be here – "

Gemini grabbed his arm, distracting him, "Cops!"

The sirens were mere yards away now as a police response unit spilled out of the back of three vans into the street. Without stopping to catch their breath, the two mutants hurried away before the police approached. The crowd were cheering and applauding, but it would have been obvious to anyone with a brain that the two of them had been using mutant powers. They didn't want to hang around for any longer than was necessary. Neither of them trusted the human police to deal fairly with mutants found at the scene of a terrorist incident.


	5. Chapter Four: Touching the Past

"…and while voting amongst the UN security council goes on, the newly elected President of the United States _continues_ his opposition to the proposal for total world-wide nuclear disarmament. The proposal, headed by the French and the Germans, outlines plans to dismantle all existing nuclear weapons and ban any further production. At this moment only Great Britain remains on America's side, and it's rumoured our long-time allies are feeling shaky on this one. And, I'm sure nobody needs reminding about the nuclear holocaust narrowly avoided by the human race no more than a month ago. While it's still unclear where and who that threat was coming from – rumours persist that mutants were involved – it has certainly increased the public's fear and mistrust of keeping nuclear weapons, even for purely defensive purposes."

"I don't understand it," said Neil, as the news program paused for an advert break. "After everything that happened last month, after the Apocalypse mutants nearly wiped out everything on Earth, I can't believe _any_body still wants to trust in nuclear weapons."

"Nuclear disarmament was one of his election promises, too," said Storm.

"Can the proposal still go through without our support?" asked Rogue.

"No," Cyclops responded. "If America and Britain continue to vote against the proposal, they can block it."

"It's madness," Neil sighed. "There simply isn't a conceivable scenario in which a civilised country would launch a nuclear weapon. For that reason alone, we shouldn't have them."

"I think most people would agree with that. But you've got to think of the possibility that some rogue state or terrorist group manages to construct a nuke of their own. If nobody else has any, that puts them in a position of frightening power."

"I don't agree with that. Anyone who's demented enough to threaten us with nuclear terrorism isn't going to be persuaded out of his madness, no matter how many of the damn things we have on our side. Any super-weapon that can be turned against us is more of a danger than it is a safeguard."

"Yeah, like your son for example," Shapeshifter muttered.

"What?"   
"Nothing."

Chloe shifted uncomfortably, "I can't help but wonder what the Professor might have done in this position. Wouldn't he have talked to the President, tried to convince him that we should abandon nuclear weapons and strive for peace?"

Nobody said anything. The group fell silent as the news program restarted:

"Here's a story just in. A major terrorist attack has been thwarted in the heart of New York City. Three as-yet-unidentified men, armed with several hundred pounds of plastic explosive, opened fire on crowds in the city centre just before noon. While it's still not known what their motives were, or how they were stopped, early reports suggest the involvement of three or more mutants. Here is a piece of footage from the scene, taken by a bystander with a video camera."

The senior X-Men watched as the footage appeared on screen. It wasn't in focus and the image was shaky, but they could make out well enough what was going on. A van was on its side and behind it crouched the three terrorists. On the right hand side of the screen a figure wearing blue could be seen approaching them.

"That's Gemini!" someone exclaimed. "Pyro, that's your – "

"What's she _doing_?"

The terrorists opened fire, and the figure was thrown to the ground in a hail of bullets.

"_NO_!" came a scream.

Pyro was on his feet, his eyes wide with horror. The camera zoomed in on the figure, wearing a blue dress, clearly Gemini, and clearly dead.

"I'll _kill_ them!" he roared. "I'll _kill_ them! I don't care where they are, I'll find them and fucking _kill_ them!"

His hand was already reaching for his lighter and he was heading for the door when a figure appeared in his way.

"Cool down," said Iceman, putting out a hand to stop his friend. "Your daughter isn't stupid enough to run straight at armed gunmen without good reason. Think about it. That would have been her double."

Pyro turned to look back at the TV screen. He could see Vertigo flipping over to disarm the gunmen, and he watched as the third man picked up one of the fallen weapons.

"Look!"

There she was. She was all right. It _had_ been her twin. The real Gemini ran in from the side to grab hold of the terrorist and knock the gun away from him. Vertigo struggled with him for a moment, and succeeded in knocking him out. Police sirens could be heard, and Vertigo and Gemini disappeared into the crowd. Pyro sagged with relief.

"Oh, thank God…thank God," he whispered, then he looked at the others. "I'm sorry…I'm sorry. I just lost it. I thought that she was – that she'd been – "

"It's all right. We understand."

"Yeah. Well, I'm gonna go and, uh, yeah. See you later."

He headed for the door and was gone. The newsreader went on, "So far no terrorist organisation has come forward to claim responsibility for the attempted attack. That in itself is rather unusual, as these terror groups are normally only too happy to publicise their deeds and their agendas. More on that story when we have it. Now, in other news…"

Neil frowned. Nobody had claimed responsibility. The newsreader was right, that _was_ odd. He said so to the others.

"Well, the attack failed, didn't it?" said Chris. "Presumably nobody wants to associate themselves with a failed attempt."

"They'll usually come forward even when it doesn't go as planned," said Neil. "They'll say something like 'this is what we're capable of, next time you won't be so lucky'."

"So what are you saying?" somebody asked.

"That whoever organised this must be keeping themselves hidden for some reason. And that makes them dangerous. If we can't see where a threat is coming from, we can't stop it."

"Or you could just be trying to read too much into this," said Wolverine. "It could have just been three crazy guys who decided to blow themselves and a lot of other people to hell."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. The simplest explanation is usually the right one. There's no point in looking for a more complex one."

"Neil, you're always seeing threats that aren't there," Fliss teased him. "I bet you see them even when you look in the mirror each morning."

"I suppose I always assume the worst," Neil admitted, then sighed. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I am trying to read too deeply into this."

Still, it wouldn't hurt to ask Gemini about it when she got back. He was glad that the girl was safe, and Vertigo too. He was still unsure of them, given their former allegiance, but they _were_ only children, whose only crime was being misled.

-

-

-

Pyro didn't stop until he got back to his room. Closing the door behind him, finally alone, he put his head in his hands and tried to get himself under control.

_I thought she was dead. I thought Gemini was dead just like Jacqueline. I thought they were both dead. I thought_…

His eyes strayed to the little framed photograph on his bookcase, the only memento he had of his beloved.

_I cursed her_, he thought, _I cursed her unto death. I told her I loved her and she died seconds later. I cursed her. I killed her. My curse, my love killed her._ _Anybody I love is cursed to die. Gemini is cursed too. She almost died today. The curse struck her twin instead. Next time she won't be so lucky._

"Oh get a grip of yourself," he muttered, trying to stop his imaginings from growing more and more bizarre.

He knew he didn't believe what he had just been thinking. Of course he didn't carry a curse. No. That was just stupid. But the horror he had just felt, watching helplessly on the TV screen as his daughter's body was torn apart by bullets…he hadn't felt like that since _then_. Since the day Jacqueline had…since she had…since the day her life and his love had ended. The horror, the helplessness, the overwhelming agony of thinking: _I can't save her…even with all my powers, I can't save her…it's too late_…_it's too late…_

Too late. In the books or the movies it was never too late. People never lost their true loves in fiction. There was always some miraculous event at the climax, that restored the dying to life. This wasn't fiction. This was real life. He should have been able to do something. He should have been able to save her. He should have been able to kiss her and say goodbye one last time. He shouldn't have had to live with the agony of seventeen years of wondering what might have been. The others downstairs, they said they understood, but how could they? They didn't know what it was like to lose a loved one. They didn't understand a fucking thing. _Nobody understands the pain I feel_.

He took a deep breath and let his hands drop to his sides, his eyes taking in the sunlight that streamed through the window. Outside the sun was bright and the sky was blue, but it brought him no pleasure. He pushed his grief away, silenced his resentment, and in their place a resolve grew: a stern, steely resolve to do anything and everything in his power to protect his daughter from the danger he hadn't been able to protect Jacqueline from. There was no way to go back in time and prevent his love's death. All he could do was stop the same thing happening to the only person he now loved. Nothing mattered now except Gemini.

-

-

-

Gary cursed as he stumbled over something just inside the door. Getting to his feet, he turned to see Annie following him inside, a slightly amused smile on her face, with Marina just behind her.

"Don't fall over yourself with eagerness now," Marina said, then turned away nervously.

Annie and Gary exchanged a delighted glance. Marina had never told a joke before. This was another good sign that she was recovering. Both of them smiled in response to her, and she smiled back, her confidence boosted by the success of her attempted witticism.

"I'm sorry Marina, but this place is a mess. Don't you ever tidy up around here?" Gary asked. "Hey, relax, that was a joke."

"I know."

Brother and sister took their first look at the interior of Marina's house. The word 'mess' didn't begin to describe it. Furniture was on its side, the wallpaper was torn, doors were off their hinges, and books and papers were scattered about everywhere. They knew nobody had been living here for a while, but surely it wouldn't have sunk into this level of disrepair so quickly.

"This is awful," said Annie. "How long has it been since somebody was here?"

"Not that long," said Marina. "Something's – something's _wrong_. The house looked nothing like this when – when we left that morning. It wouldn't have gotten this messy over time – would it?"

"No, it wouldn't," Annie and Gary said.

Marina blinked in surprise. She was still getting used to the way they often responded in unison. She was still afraid of the fact that they were different from the people they'd once been, and were still changing. She didn't want to lose her two closest friends.

Gary spoke up, "We're on the coast, aren't we? Maybe a hurricane hit it."

Marina shook her head, "No, we never get s – strong winds here. And the house itself isn't damaged, just m – messy."

Annie picked up a random piece of paper from the floor as if it might offer some explanation, "Do you think this was done deliberately? Maybe someone was here ransacking the place. Burglars?"

"The TV's still here," said Gary, pointing to the corner. "Thieves would hardly ransack the place for goodies and leave the TV behind, would they?"

"No, they wouldn't," his sister agreed.

Marina had moved through to one of the adjoining rooms, and they heard her call, "The – the dining room is just as bad."

Annie ran her hand along the back of the fallen sofa, then examined her palm, "No dust. You'd think some would have settled by now. Whatever made this mess, made it recently."

"Do you think somebody came here and – and did this?" asked Marina. "Why would – why would anyone do that? I don't understand."

"Well, I don't think anyone did this for the purposes of vandalism," said Annie. "I mean, the TV is still intact. And the furniture hasn't been broken, just knocked over. No, somebody must have here _looking_ for something – something specific. That's the only explanation for this kind of mess."

"But what? My family don't – didn't," she corrected sadly, "have anything to hide."

"Are you sure?"

"Well, if there was, they – they kept it a pretty good secret from me."

"Who all lived here?" asked Gary.

Marina looked at him, "Well, my mom and dad, me, my brother and sister, and my cousin sometimes, when he was – when he was posted at the naval base just along the coast. I, uh, I don't wanna t – talk about my family any – any more…"

"OK," said Annie gently. "Maybe there's another explanation for what happened here. Maybe somebody else moved in here and got in trouble with the police."

"How could anybody else move in here? The house is my family's – mine," said Marina. "Our lawyer wouldn't have sold the house or anything without – without talking to me first."

"What if he thought you were dead?"

"What?"

"Think about it. How many people actually know you're alive? I've looked, out of curiosity, but I've never managed to find any newspaper reports about the accident, or about the fact you survived. I think Shock and Shapeshifter adopted you as fast as they could and kept you secret."

"Why would they do that?"

"To keep you safe," said Gary. "To keep you from being labelled as a mutant. Nobody but a mutant could have survived the way you did – they obviously decided that the fewer people knew about you the better."

Marina looked at them for a moment, then she began to glance around the room, "No – no, nobody has moved in here. The house hasn't been sold on. This is still all our old furnishings and – and stuff. Let's check my room – I bet it won't have changed a bit."

They followed her upstairs and into the first room on the left.

"Oh – my room…" Marina gasped.

The small bedroom within had been ripped apart and thrown about just like the front room below. All of Marina's belongings lay broken in pieces and scattered on the floor. Her posters were ripped, her bed thrown aside, her wardrobe lying open and her clothes strewn over the floor.

"My computer," she said suddenly. "It – it's gone."

There was quite clearly a space on top of the desk where something had once sat. Marina ventured further into the room and opened one of the desk drawers.

"If the computer's gone, maybe this _was_ the work of thieves," said Annie.

"No, look…all my jewellery is – is still here. I've got some quite expensive stuff too, one of my necklaces, it was a birthday present from my – from my uncle. It isn't even difficult to find, and – and – and nobody's taken it. This definitely wasn't a – wasn't a robbery."

"So nothing's missing – apart from your computer?" asked Annie. "Let's check the other rooms and see if anything else has been taken."

Marina nodded her agreement and she led them to the next bedroom along.

"This is – this was my brother's. My cousin would share it when he was here. It's a mess too."

The room seemed relatively bare and empty, and Gary said, "There's not much left here. What's missing?"

"Nothing. My brother was in the navy, remember. He was hardly ever home. My sister's room is – is next along."

They went through to the next room; this one was on the right hand side of the corridor. Like the others it was a complete mess, everything thrown about and scattered on the floor. Marina looked around for a moment, picking up a few items and glancing at them, then she said, "Hey – the computer's missing from _here_ too."

Annie frowned, "Are there any other computers in the house?"

"Just one – the family one, d – downstairs."

"Let's see if it's been taken too."

They went back downstairs and Marina walked through to a room in the back. The windows on this side of the house offered a pleasant view of the ocean, and Marina smiled slightly as she stood for a moment and watched the blue surface rippling on the never-ending horizon. Then she remembered why they had come in here, and said, "Yeah – the computer in here's gone too. This was our – this was our study. This was where my mom and dad would – would come to use the computer."

"So all the computers in the house have been taken," said Gary. "And you're absolutely sure nothing else is gone?"

"Well, I – I can't be certain right away, but – well, I haven't noticed anything else missing. A lot of valuable stuff is still here. And – and our computers weren't that expensive anyway. Mine and Helena's – that's my sister – were old, second-hand ones."

"So it must be something specific to do with the computers," said Annie.

"Was somebody starting a computer company?" Gary said dryly.

"I doubt it. More likely they were looking for information stored on the machines' hard drives. They must have searched the whole house trying to find this information, and finally decided it had to be on the computers. That would explain why the rooms were torn apart the way they were, but nothing was taken."

"But what would they be looking for?" asked Marina. "There's – there's nothing important on my computer. Just essays and games and stuff."

"There must be something," Gary said. "Nobody would go to this length to find something unless they were certain it was here."

"Do you think they found it – whatever it was – and then left?"

Annie looked at the empty desk surface once more, "There's no way to tell, unless we can work out what it was they wanted. We know it's information of some kind, because they took the computers. Marina, what did your family do for a living?"

"Uh – my mom was a diving instructor. She also worked as a volunteer for – for the Coast Guard. My dad – my dad ran a boat charter service. My brother was – was in the navy, like I said. My sister was a student."

"What did she study?"

"Marine biology."

Gary raised her eyebrows, "Your family really did love the water, didn't they?"

"Yes. I – I think that's why I was born the way I am. Whatever it is that's causing humans to mutate, maybe some quirk of evolution, must have given a water-mutated baby to a family who spent almost their entire lives on or under the sea. Or I dunno, maybe I'm just crazy thinking there's some 'force' controlling these things."

"I think He's called God," said Annie.

"Yeah – yeah, I guess. So – what about my family? What's the connection with this break-in?"

"What about your brother?" said Gary. "What exactly did he do in the navy? Maybe foreign spies broke in here to access some sensitive information he'd been entrusted with, like the blueprints of a new design of warship or something."

Marina shook her head, "No, he didn't do anything in research or design. He was a radio operator – well, before his promotion anyway. He died the very next day after he became an officer. They – they all died," her voice shook a little.

"Marina…" said Annie softly. "Be strong. I'm sorry we have to keep reminding you of your – of what happened."

Marina turned away sadly and went back through into the front room. Gary made as if to follow her, but Annie put a gentle hand on his arm and telepathed silently, _I think she needs to be alone for a moment or two_.

"Maybe you're right," he said quietly. "So what do you think? About all this? Who tore the house apart?"

"I don't know. Your theory about spies was a good one, and it's still worth considering. It's possible her brother had some more secretive role in the navy than she knows about."

"Should we tell somebody what's happened? The police?"

Annie bit her lip, "It makes sense, but I feel reluctant. I don't know why. I just don't feel as if we should trust anybody. I can't explain why I feel that way…I've been uneasy all day. This dream I had last night…"

"A dream? What was it about?"

"It's slipping away; I can't remember it so clearly now…it had something do with a nuclear missile strike. Yes, I remember now. I was overlooking a city – I didn't recognise it – and I saw it struck by a nuclear missile. The city was destroyed and millions died. I don't know why it's bothering me so much; I've had worse dreams before."

"I have nightmares just like that as well," he said. "I always assumed it was just some sort of hangover from the Horsemen."

"So did I, but it keeps recurring. I can't help but worry that it means something."

"Like what?"

"What if it's a vision?"

"A what?"

"You know. A vision. A premonition. A warning."

Gary shook his head, "That's Cassandra's department, not ours. We can't see the future like she can."

"What if it's just a one-off? What if it's a warning that what happened in our dreams is going to happen some time in the near future, unless we stop it?"

"A warning? From who?"

"From God."

He raised his eyebrows, "Why would God tell us what's going to happen in the future?"

"So we can stop it. We _are_ the most powerful beings on Earth, Gary."

"Why would God waste His time warning us about something He could easily stop by Himself?"

"I guess He works in mysterious ways. I don't know, maybe I'm way off the mark here. It sounds crazy but it's possible. I mean, we should at least _consider_ it, in case our dream _is_ going to come true."

"Point," he agreed. "Let's just worry about Marina's house for now, OK? We can tell Dad about the dream when we get home."

"Yeah. I think we can go through to her now."

They went through to the front room, where they found Marina. She had pulled the sofa back the right way up and was seated on it now. Something was resting in her lap and tears were dripping out of her eyes. The siblings got closer until they could see what she was holding. It was a framed photograph of Marina's family: father; mother (who was the spitting image of Marina); brother; sister; and Marina herself. All smiling happily at the camera, blissfully unaware of the tragedy that was due to strike. Marina looked up at the Rosiçkys, her eyes lined red and brimming with tears.

"This is the first picture I've seen – the first time I've seen them since – " she swallowed. " – since it happened. You know, sometimes I – I wish I hadn't survived. Sometimes I wish I was dead as well, so I – so I wouldn't have to feel like this."

"Marina, don't talk like that," said Gary, sitting down on the sofa beside her and putting his arm around her trembling shoulders. "You're strong. I know it's hard, but you're strong enough to get through this."

"I'm not strong…" she sobbed.

"Yes you _are_," he insisted. "You're fighting to recover from a terrible experience, and you're winning. You're getting better every day. You haven't gone crazy or tried to kill yourself, have you? And you know why? Because you're stronger than that."

"He's right, Marina," said Annie. "The majority of people would be doing far worse in your situation."

"I remember what _I_ was like when I thought I had lost _you_," Gary said, stroking Marina's hair. "I was in danger of losing it. I nearly lost control completely. I nearly killed Annie. You've never done anything like that."

"That's different," said Marina. "You had a target to – to vent your bad feelings on. I don't. What happened to my family – to me – was just a terrible accident. There isn't anything I can do to make myself feel better."

The reasoning didn't faze him. Gary put his hands on her shoulders and faced her, "Marina, you are strong. A lot of people don't realise it, but you are. You've survived one of the worst things that could possibly happen to a person – you've survived both mentally and physically – if you can stand up to that, you can stand up to anything."

"No, you've got it all wrong. If I'm so strong, how come I end up crying all the time?"

"Because it's a natural reaction. Everybody cries when they get upset. If you don't cry then there's something wrong with you. Recyclo is the perfect example of that."

Marina looked away, "Maybe you're right. But I don't _feel_ strong. Sometimes I feel as if I could crack at any moment."

"You won't. You'll always manage to hold together. I know you will."

He held her tightly, and Marina rested in his arms, her eyes closed and her mind trying to be at peace. Annie smiled as she saw them, then disappeared back into the computer room. She knew it was best to let them have a few minutes alone together. She knew Gary had a special bond with Marina that she could never have. A few minutes passed in peaceful silence, then Gary said softly, "Marina, we've never really talked about the future, have we?"

"What – what do you mean?"

"I mean what we want to do with our lives when we get a little older."

"I want to be with you."

He kissed the top of her head and said, "That's what I want as well. Maybe it's too early to be talking about this, but…have you ever thought about us getting married? And – and maybe having children?"

Marina snorted indignantly, but then smiled, "Men are always so keen to have babies. I bet – I bet they wouldn't be so keen if _they_ had to have them."

Then her smile faded, as she looked at the floor and mumbled uncertainly, "That was – that was what my mom always used to say…"

Gary grinned, "I suppose it's true. But I wouldn't try to force you to have a baby if you weren't prepared to go through with it. I'd never try to force you into anything."

"Good, because I wouldn't let you."

Both of them smiled, and they kissed. Parting slightly, he whispered, "See, I told you that you were strong. You can tell the most powerful guy in the world where to get off. That proves it."

Marina giggled, her confidence boosted another notch, "Even the most powerful guy in the world can't resist a beautiful girl."

"True, very true…"

They drew together once more and kissed, a long and passionate embrace. Marina moved backwards and Gary moved forwards; before they knew what was happening she was on her back and he was on top of her, the two young mutants still kissing each other hungrily and intimately. Marina's eyes were wide and when they finally parted she gasped, "I've – I've never felt like _this_ before…"

_I have_, he didn't tell her. Their bodies pressed tightly together, they kissed again. Marina could feel desire mushrooming inside of her, an unfamiliar feeling, frightening yet exhilarating, and she pulled Gary down to kiss him again. She wanted him. In a way she felt as if a long-lost part of her mind had just returned, as if it had woken after a long sleep. She was ready for anything now.

Gary had always promised himself that he would take things slowly and gently with Marina if they ever came into this kind of situation. He had always resolved that he would ensure she was ready and willing to take their relationship to a further level. He had always promised himself that he wouldn't go too fast or take advantage of her uncertainties. Unfortunately all of his resolutions and promises were not high on his list of priorities right now, as he felt the warm and sensual body of his girlfriend beneath him, feeling her heart beating rapidly and keeping time with his own. Her bare legs parted slightly and Gary found his hand slipping down towards her skirt, then under it, pushing its hem up towards her waist. Marina's breath caught in her throat as she felt his hand on her panties. He hesitated. She gasped, and pleaded in her mind: _no, don't hesitate_! _The moment will pass_!

"Uh, guys," came Annie's cautioning voice from the other room.

He gasped and she squealed as they tensed and pulled away from each other, sitting at opposite ends of the sofa, trying to make it look as if they had not been doing what they had clearly just been doing. Marina quickly tugged her skirt back down to cover her panties once more. Annie had just appeared in the doorway. She must have realised what was going on, but she made no comment. She said, "We're into the afternoon now. Obviously we won't be able to get back to New York tonight; we'll need to stay here. Let's try to do as much as we can to tidy up the house before night falls, so we've got somewhere to sleep. Tomorrow morning we'll have to buy food from somewhere."

"There's – there's a store about a – a mile down the road," said a shaken Marina.

"OK. You can take us there."

"Where are we going to sleep?" Gary asked.

"You can sleep downstairs," said Annie. "Marina and I will sleep upstairs. Let's concentrate on tidying up the front room here, and Marina's bedroom. I can grab a spare blanket and sleep on her bedroom floor. Gary, you sleep on the sofa in here."

She spoke in a no-nonsense, businesslike voice, and neither of the younger mutants argued. Annie said, "Marina, why don't you go upstairs and make a start on your room? Gary and I will start cleaning up down here and then come up and join you."

Still catching her breath, Marina tidied her disarrayed hair into place, and hurried up the stairs. Gary watched her go, then turned to Annie, "All right, where should we sta – "

She smacked him in the face, the blow enhanced by her telekinetic power, and he recoiled backwards, falling against the sofa. He felt no pain, but the shock of the attack had stunned him. Touching his cheek, Gary arose and asked in a hurt voice, "What was _that_ for?"

"You know _exactly_ what that was for," Annie snapped angrily. "Have you any _idea_ what you almost did just there?"

"Hey, that was none of your business!"

"Of course it was! If you're going to take advantage of a traumatised girl and risk making her pregnant, then it is very much my business!"

Part of him wanted to react angrily, but another part of him, the part that was changing into Annie, knew she was right. He sighed and looked away, "Do you think she would have got – "

It was his own anger that was flowing through Annie's veins as she snapped, "How should I know? A girl her age shouldn't have to worry about that. Gary, don't touch her like that again. I mean it. It could send the two of you out of control. It could damage her mind beyond any possible recovery."

"Hey, I didn't exactly hold her down and – and force her or anything. She wanted it as much as I did. I could read her feelings."

"That doesn't matter. Gary, for her sake, just don't. If Marina gets too excited, she might not consider the consequences, and she'll react irrationally. The same is true for you. She isn't ready. Now, you're not sleeping in her room tonight because I don't think it's safe. Please, Gary, I'm not doing this just to spoil your fun. I'm doing it because it's best for Marina. And besides, you know you shouldn't have sex until you're married, don't you?"

"Well, yeah…"

"Let's start tidying this place up."

-

-

-

Although she did not realise it, Cassandra had become practically a mother to the youngest child in the school. The little girl in question was six years old, and she had been quite literally left on the school's doorstep by persons unknown. They had discovered her there one morning, along with a small bag containing clothes and a few other possessions, and a letter. The letter, written by the child's parents, had explained that they were no longer prepared to care for their mutant daughter, and they hoped she could be looked after here. It was unsigned, and gave the girl's name only as Phoebe. Parents abandoning mutant children wasn't uncommon, but how this girl's parents had found out about the school was anyone's guess. Word must have got around.

Attempts to track down Phoebe's family had proved unsuccessful, leaving the school with little choice but to adopt her into their studentship. Naturally the teachers were curious to learn exactly what powers the child possessed. They assumed that her abandonment had come as a result of a sudden manifestation of her powers in front of her unsuspecting family. Gentle questioning revealed, however, that Phoebe herself had no idea what she had done. All she could remember was some kind of 'dizzy spell' when she had suddenly lost consciousness. When she had come to, her family were in a terrified state of shock, and the next thing she knew she was being bundled into the car on her way here.

It had taken another couple of weeks before they had their first insights into the mysterious abilities Phoebe possessed. Cassandra had feared the worst when one night she'd heard the sound of screaming suddenly coming from the youngest children's dormitory. Rushing to the scene, she'd found the kids huddled together in the corner, each of them in shock, too scared to speak. The only exception was Phoebe, who lay pale and unmoving on her bed, and made no response when she was gently shaken. Cassandra had gone to check she was OK. To her disbelief and horror, she found that the little girl was dead. How could this have happened? How could Phoebe be dead? What could have happened to her? Cassandra couldn't believe that the tiny child had died before her life had even properly begun. This was the worst thing she could imagine. In her wildest nightmares she could not conceive of anything more horrifying than a little child dying. Unable to handle the maelstrom of shock and distress that welled up inside her, she was sobbing and screaming herself. This only made the other children even more upset, and matters did not calm down until some of the adults arrived.

A few minutes later in her own bedroom, recovering from the shock, Cassandra was given good news: Phoebe was not dead. The other children had finally calmed down enough to explain what had scared them, and the mystery of Phoebe's powers was solved. After a series of childish descriptions of monsters, ghosts, giant snakes and other horrors, it soon became clear what was going on. Somehow, presumably inadvertently, Phoebe had been projecting these terrifying images into the other kids' minds. This also explained why Cassandra had found the girl apparently dead. That too had been an illusion, an illusion of Cassandra's very worst fear: the death of a child she loved. Presumably the same thing had happened to Phoebe when she was with her family – projecting their most terrifying fears into their minds – and they had been too afraid to keep her any more.

Of course, Phoebe was too young to understand the reasons why she had been abandoned by her family. As children often did in these circumstances, she assumed that she must have done something very wrong to make her parents disown her. Guilt combined with sadness led her to spend most of her time in silence and solitude. It had taken some time for her to realise that the school was now her home, and she would not be going back to her parents. In a way, it was best that she had been brought here. With her unstable and terrifying power, there was no way she could have lived with humans until she learned to control it.

It hadn't taken a lot of imagination for a child named Phoebe, who had the ability to project fear, to take the nickname Phobia. The obvious problem was that since she had no way of controlling her seemingly spontaneous power, it was going to seriously disrupt her life and the lives of those around her. In class, or during meals, or at night, her powers began to randomly activate, each time creating a mass of screaming and terrified children. It was starting to get to the point where the other kids would refuse to sit near her, and were demanding that she sleep in a separate room at night. She found herself sitting alone at meal times and shunned when the others were playing. Many of the other children would run away the moment they saw her. The teachers were also becoming tired of classes continually being disrupted and thrown into chaos by her inability to control her power. As their frustration grew, some of the adults began to see her as a burden they wished had never come to them. It was simply impossible for anyone to live with her. For the sake of the other children, some were suggesting that Phoebe be taught on a solitary basis. This only served to upset the unhappy child even more, and she drew further and further into herself, rarely speaking and often crying because she had no idea what was happening to her, and why nobody liked her.

Cassandra's maternal instincts had kicked in, and she had taken the troubled little girl under her wing. Her powers of foresight enabled her to predict when Phoebe might suddenly project frightening images, and she was able to react in time to avoid being terrified. She soon discovered that Phoebe's mental projections only affected her when she was actually looking at the little girl. If she couldn't see Phoebe, the images wouldn't come. If she looked away while Phoebe's power was active, she wouldn't be affected. Patiently she encouraged the child to try and identify sensations that might warn when her power was about to activate, so that Phoebe might be able to give a warning to those around her, so that they could look away from her and not be touched by the mental images. The only thing Phoebe knew was that sometimes she became dizzy and passed out, and when she woke everyone was screaming. It took practice, but soon she was able to announce that she was about to 'go dizzy' and anyone in the vicinity would make sure to look the other way. Obviously this was still a major obstacle to leading a normal life, but the teachers hoped that with time and training she would be able to harness her powers and use them at will, instead of them firing off randomly.

By this time, Cassandra was virtually a substitute mother for the increasingly lonely and unsettled child. Phoebe had even called her 'Mommy' once or twice by mistake. But having somebody she could lean on and talk to had given Phoebe the confidence to start settling in. Still nervous of their own experiences with her mental projections, the other kids were initially reluctant to get to know her, but once she learned how to warn them when it was coming, they gradually began to accept her. It was a natural reaction from children: when somebody new arrived, it often took time before they were fully welcomed into the established group. Now that her terrifying power was at least tamed, they were not so afraid to be with her, and everybody was glad to have life return more or less to normal. What the future would hold for little Phoebe was anybody's guess, but at least now she had been given a start towards taking hold of her life.

-

-

-

His sleep was disturbed by the sound of the telephone ringing on the table beside his bed. Glancing at the clock, he saw it was 3am. Grabbing the phone on the fourth ring, he spoke irritably, "This better be important."

"Admiral, this is Watcher Delta, down at the Florida coast."

"Yes, what is it? Don't worry, this line's secure."

"I think someone's come back to the Forrester house."

This got the man's attention; he sat up in bed, turned the light on and said, "Who?"

"Three kids; two girls and a boy. At first I thought they might just be homeless kids looking for a place to spend the night, but it looks as if they plan to stay. Besides, they're too well dressed to be homeless. And sir, get this – "

"What?" he snapped impatiently.

" – I think one of them is the missing Forrester girl."

"Are you _serious_?"

"Yes, sir! I couldn't believe it either, sir; we never found her body on the wreck but we could never track her down either. We assumed she'd been grabbed by a shark or something – "

"Stop babbling, you idiot! You know what has to be done."

"What about the other two, sir?"

"Probably best to take care of them too."

"You got it."

Watcher Delta hung up. The other man put down the phone, switched off the light, and lay down in bed once more. Not that he could sleep now. His mind raced furiously. How the hell was this possible? There was barely a square inch of the country that hadn't been searched, and there was no way she could have gotten out of the US. Where the hell had Marina Forrester been hiding?


	6. Chapter Five: The Anomaly

Gemini had been embraced by her father in the hallway of the school the moment she returned. Pyro held her tightly, thanking God that she was safe, that his worst fears hadn't come to pass, that his curse had not returned to strike only the second girl he had ever loved.

"_Dad_," she giggled, a little surprised by the sudden show of affection. "What is it?"

He smiled at her, "I saw the terrorist attack on the news. I saw you – your twin – getting shot. For a few terrible seconds I thought I'd lost you, just as I lost – well, you know."

"I'm OK, Dad."

"I'm glad. I wouldn't have let you out of my sight if I'd realised you were going to take chances like that."

She looked at him. He was only half joking. Then she noticed that he was wearing his coat and was clearly on his way out.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"We're flying over to Scotland," he told her. "There's something Oculus wants us to check out. Oh, he wants to see you too. I should be back this afternoon. I'll see you then."

"OK. Love you."

He kissed her lightly on the top of her head, then they broke apart and he went with the other two adults. _Love you_. The words echoed inside his head. He didn't think anybody else except Jacqueline had ever said those words to him.

Gemini watched him go, then she began to feel a little uneasy. So Oculus wanted to see her. What could he want? The two of them hardly knew each other, and she never felt at ease with him. She had never seen the man laugh or smile; he always seemed to be perpetually gloomy and pessimistic, as if the end of the world lay just around every corner. He only taught classes for the older students, i.e. Gemini and her friends. She suspected this was because the younger kids simply couldn't relate to somebody so discouraging. She looked around for Vertigo, hoping he might accompany her, but she had left him behind in the garden and now he had disappeared. Gemini sighed and headed for Oculus' room.

On the way she passed one of the classrooms, and out of curiosity glanced inside. Gaia, Gladiator's mom, was standing at the front of the class, a group of small children in a semi-circle around her. Little Acceleratus was among them. Gemini stopped to watch. She liked the way Gaia taught her classes, typically showing the children an animal, and letting them touch it and stroke it if the creature was harmless enough and placid enough. Sometimes she would show them how to feed it or how to build a replica of its home, thus letting the kids learn from a more practical, hands-on experience. Gemini thought that was much better than being lectured to out of a textbook. She watched as Gaia reached into a box on her desk, and lifted out a snake. The children let out a collective gasp, some of the boys whispering, "_Cool_!" while most of the girls were backing away nervously.

"It's OK, he's only a baby," Chloe said, letting the small python wind around her wrist. "He's not poisonous. He won't hurt you. You can touch him if you like."

She knelt down in front of the children. Eventually one of the kids plucked up the courage to run his hand along the snake's back, keeping away from its head.

"Wow, it's not slimy at all!" came his surprised voice.

"Hey, it's sticking its tongue out at you," one of the other children giggled.

"That's how snakes hear," Gaia explained. "They don't have ears like we do, so they put out their tongues to sense the vibrations that noises make."

"Cool," said the boy.

"They don't have _ears_?" another kid said. "Weird."

It was a pity Gaia's class for the older students wasn't quite so much fun. At the moment she had them doing an essay on how climate change and human factors affected animals' habitats – or something like that, anyway. Nevertheless Gemini smiled, and continued on her way. Once she had reached Oculus' office, she raised her hand to knock on the door, but before she could do so his voice came from within, "Come in."

_Damn_ _telepath_, she thought in annoyance. Even if he could sense her approach, he still ought to do her the courtesy of letting her knock on the door. She pushed it open and walked inside. Oculus looked up from the papers on his desk, and regarded her with the gold-centred eyes that still made her feel uncomfortable, since she knew that he might well be looking through her clothes. Gemini was used to people ogling her body and she hated it. It made her feel so _dirty_.

"My dad told me you wanted to see me," the girl said, hoping this would be over soon.

"Yes. Sit down, Alexandra."

Alexandra. They always insisted on using the name her parents had given her. Alexandra Cartëasis. That was what it had been. Gemini had left that name behind years ago, and she didn't understand why the X-Men still called her that. She sat down in front of the desk, and took a quick glance around Oculus' office. It was boring and drab, as she might have expected. There were no posters or anything, and definitely not enough colour. The door that led through to the adjoining room – Gaia's – was open, and Gemini glanced through there too, hoping it might be more interesting. She'd never been in Gaia's room before, and she was intrigued to see a number of boxes, cages and aquariums that clearly housed animals. Something was strange about them, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Then she realised what it was. None of the cages was locked, and none of the boxes had a lid. Whatever animals might be in them, were free to roam about as they wished. She hoped none of them were dangerous. She assumed Gaia had them under control.

"What can you tell me about Mystique?" Oculus broke into her thoughts.

The girl shrugged, "What do you wanna know?"

"Is she alive?"

Gemini didn't answer right away. Mystique had made it clear to her that she didn't want to be made known to the others. Actually, she had only specified that she didn't want Pyro to know about her, but Gemini assumed it applied to the other adults as well. She tried to sound casual as she said, "Why do you ask?"

"Because I sensed something unusual this morning when I was using the Cerebro machine. Something I couldn't explain. Your father said it might have something to do with Magneto's helmet technology. We thought Mystique was a likely candidate for somebody who would have access to it."

"I've no idea who might have access to it."

"But you do know something about Mystique."

"Why don't you ask my dad? He knew her better than I did."

Neil knew the girl was evading the question. He guessed she wanted to protect Mystique, who had been something like a mother to her. He would have told her just to answer him directly, but there was no need, not when he could simply read her mind. He did so, and found what he was looking for. So Mystique _was_ alive, or at least she had been a month ago, when she had helped Gemini and her friends locate the Horsemen. It was unlikely that anything had befallen her since then. Could she have been the anomaly he had sensed? What would she have been doing in Glasgow? And what would she be doing with the helmet technology? Could she simply be trying to remain hidden? If so, why? What was she trying to hide?

The teenager was looking at him, waiting for him to respond. He said, "Maybe I'll talk to Pyro. I also want to ask you about what happened earlier today."

"The terrorist thing?"

"Yes."

She shrugged, trying to convey a sense of indifference, "Fire away."

"I assume you're not hurt."

"I'm fine," Gemini said, _like you care_.

"Good. From what I've been able to tell, the police still haven't identified the terrorists, though it seems clear their intention was to die along with their targets in the explosion – "

"Suicide bombers?" she interrupted.

Neil looked at the girl. He knew she wasn't comfortable being here, and he knew she found him too cold and aloof for her liking. Some adults had the gift of being able to talk to children on their own level. Neil did not, and it was clear to him that most of the teenagers didn't like him much. He wasn't sure what to make of Alexandra. It was obvious she had suffered badly as a child, but she was coping well. She was angry, proud, and never afraid to speak her mind or stand up for what she believed in. Although she no longer saw the X-Men as mutant-killing monsters, her opinion of them was still not high. As a teenager she naturally assumed that since they did not agree with things that seemed so obvious to her, then they must be stupid. The rest of her friends – Pyro's former students – were the same. Neil wondered, as he often had, whether it had been the right thing to do, to try and integrate them into the school. It hadn't been his decision to make, and he was glad of that, and it was too late to turn back the clock now. For better or worse, Alexandra, Vertigo, Cassandra, Atlas and – Neil sighed inwardly – Gary were now pupils here. And in honesty, they had adapted fairly quickly and fairly well. Children usually did. They tended to get on better with the younger X-Men – Iceman, Rogue, Shock, Gaia – but perhaps that was only natural too.

He returned his attention to the girl in front of him. Neil had known plenty of people who'd been the same at Alexandra's age. The only thing that made him uncertain was her incredible devotion to her new father. She saw Pyro as a saviour, a man who could do no wrong, and Neil knew that wasn't the case. Some day Alexandra would have to find that out.

"Yes, suicide bombers," he had responded to her. "We're very fortunate that you and Vertigo were able to incapacitate them before they could set off an explosion."

She knew that was as close to praise as she would get. She said, "So what else do you know about them?"

"They don't seem to belong to any known terrorist group, and nobody has come forward to claim responsibility for the attempted attack. That in itself is quite strange."

"So what do you make of it?" she asked, her curiosity aroused despite her determination not to show interest.

"Well, either they were working alone – that seems unlikely since their group and their beliefs would have died with them when the bomb had gone off – or they're working for somebody who wants to remain anonymous. That's very rarely the case in a terrorist incident such as this, and I'd like to look into it. When something unusual happens, it makes me curious."

_You mean_ _paranoid_, she thought to herself.

"That's a possibility as well," he said, and Gemini gasped as she realised she'd forgotten about his telepathy.

"Hey, I didn't mean to, like, _offend_ you," she said quickly.

It wasn't that she cared about his feelings – she wasn't even sure he had any – but she was afraid that he might get angry, and Dad wasn't around to protect her…

"I'm not easily offended, Alexandra. What I need to ask you is if you saw or heard anything today, anything at all, that might give us an idea where this attack came from."

She thought for a moment, then shook her head, "No, I can't think of anything."

"Hmm. Well, if you do remember anything, be sure to let me know."

"Yeah. Can I go now?"

"Yes."

Gemini gladly left the room, closing the door behind her and standing in the corridor outside, allowing herself a sigh of relief. She didn't know what it was about Gladiator's dad that made her feel so creepy. Maybe it was just the permanent sense of doom and foreboding that he carried about with him, looking for enemies that weren't there and seeing danger in every change of the wind. How could anybody be so negative? Gemini didn't understand it at all. While her life had never been particularly happy or easy, she had always had a positive outlook, determined that whatever her future would bring, she would make the most of it and lead the happiest life she could manage. She couldn't fathom somebody who would rather think the opposite way, that things were always going to get worse and there was nothing to look forward to in life. _Is that what you turn into when you become an adult_? she wondered.

Seated in his office, Neil was pondering the same thing. Was he looking too deeply into this terrorist attack? Was he assuming the worst straight away, looking for a conspiracy that wasn't there? Couldn't it just have been three deranged hotheads who decided to blow themselves up? Was he wrong in assuming that the terrorists had to have been taking orders from someone, someone who wanted to remain hidden? Was he jumping to conclusions too quickly, accepting theories simply because he wanted them to be true? In some perverse way he felt as if he actually _wanted_ to have a new enemy to fight. Since the demise of the Horsemen, his initial sense of relief had turned into an ever-growing feeling of unease. He didn't understand it. He didn't enjoy fighting, had sworn himself to a pacifist's life, and only used his powers to protect himself and other mutants when there was absolutely no other choice. So why was there this odd desire inside of him to have a fresh foe to do battle with? Was it because he wanted to have an enemy who was clearly defined and out in the open, instead of having to worry about shadowy forces working their plots from the middle of their webs of deceit? Or was he just being paranoid, like everybody said, assuming that because he couldn't see any enemies, they had to be hiding? Maybe there weren't any. Maybe he was just looking for things that didn't exist, seeing connections and conclusions that didn't add up.

Gemini walked hurriedly away from his office, towards her dorm. Hopefully Cassandra or Crusader would be there. Or Aqua, though she didn't speak much. Gemini wanted to compare notes for that essay they had to write for Gaia's class. On the way she passed Shock, who gave her a friendly smile. Gemini automatically smiled back. It was hard to dislike Shock. The young X-Woman was bubbly and fun-loving…and she wasn't actually all that young. She was Dad's age, wasn't she? Maybe she just seemed younger. She also didn't try to talk down to Gemini as if she was a kid. Gemini hated it when people didn't take her seriously. So what if she was only fourteen? That didn't mean her brain didn't work. It didn't mean she was incapable of thinking about difficult stuff. It made her so angry sometimes. People didn't magically turn into adults on their 18th birthday. It was a gradual process. Fourteen was an age when you were almost an adult, she decided, and you should be treated that way.

Walking quickly, she passed one of the classrooms, glancing inside out of idle curiosity. Cyclops was in there, sitting up front reading something. He was alone, and Gemini stopped. There was something she'd wanted to ask him for a long time, but had never found the right time to do so. She didn't like him, didn't trust him, and tried to avoid him whenever possible. But this was a question that she desperately wanted to know the answer to, even if it meant approaching a man she was still uncomfortable with. She entered the room.

"Cyclops?"

Scott looked up. In the doorway he saw Alexandra, Pyro's foster daughter, making her way towards him. He remembered it hadn't been that long ago when she had been locked in battle against him. He remembered grappling with the two of her, amazed by the anger and passion with which she fought. He remembered several times trying to get a lock on one twin, only to find himself attacked from behind by the other one. He had never been entirely comfortable fighting her or the other children, but a child in Pyro's hands could be as dangerous as any weapon. Pyro had proved masterful at harnessing these children's anger, building it up, and then releasing them on a target. Scott hoped it was not too late to bring Alexandra and the others away from that way of thinking. Right now he wasn't sure what she wanted, but he was willing to listen.

"Can I ask you something?" she said.

"Go ahead."

The girl twisted a strand of her long, dark hair around her fingers, and he could tell she wasn't comfortable with whatever she was going to ask him. He waited, and after a moment or so of hesitation, Alexandra began, "Look, you know what happened to me, don't you? Someone must have told you. I was sold by my own mother and kept in a laboratory when I was only, like, eight."

"Yes, I know," he said quietly.

"And I was stuck there until my dad rescued me, well, before he _was_ my dad. But the thing is – "

She seemed unwilling to go on, but he guessed what she was going to say, "You want to know why we weren't the ones who came to rescue you?"

"Yeah!" she said, a hint of accusation creeping into her voice. "I mean, like, your professor guy was supposed to be able to sense every mutant everywhere when using that machine, right? Why couldn't he see what was happening to me? Or was it that he just didn't _care_?! Huh? _Is that it, Cyclops_?!"

Her anger had spilled over and she was practically screaming by the end. He waited a moment for it to subside, then he said, "The only answer I can give you is: I don't know. I don't know whether the Professor knew about you. I can only assume he didn't, or he would have done something about it. Unless – "

"Unless _what_?" she said impatiently.

"Well, if the Professor couldn't find you, it's surprising that Magneto _was_ able to. Did he ever tell you how he found out about you?"

"No," she shrugged. "But he had ways of finding stuff out. He wasn't as dumb as you people seemed to think!"

"Ahem – I can assure you nobody ever accused him of being stupid," came the dry response. "I've wondered this on occasion myself. I think the only explanation is that the Professor discovered your plight, and told Magneto where to find you."

"Why would he do _that_?" she retorted. "Like, I thought they hated each other."

"No."

"Well, that's what my dad said."

"Yes, well – "

He stopped. He knew the girl idolised her new father, and directing any criticism at Pyro would make Alexandra resentful, and she would refuse to listen to anything else. He suspected Pyro had been more than a little guilty of corrupting the truth to try and manipulate his students. There was no doubt he had a talent for it. He didn't tell Alexandra his suspicion either: his theory of why Xavier might have told Magneto where the girl was held. It was obvious that Pyro's fiery and volatile attitude had been calmed by his adoption of the girl. Had the Professor foreseen that this might happen? Had he directed Magneto towards Alexandra, guessing that Pyro would be sent to rescue her, predicting that the bond would form between the two of them, gambling that it would quench Pyro's desire to kill humans? It sounded implausible, although Xavier had proved before that he was capable of this kind of thing. Was it possible? Could the Professor have looked inside the minds of Pyro and Alexandra, and seen that they would love each other as father and daughter? Scott couldn't be sure. In his heart, he doubted it. Despite his immense faith in the Professor, this seemed too much. It wasn't as if he could have known for certain that the two of them would bond together the way they had. And it seemed like a risky gamble to take with the girl's safety in mind.

He saw that Alexandra was waiting for a response, her arms folded across her chest, her small figure defiant, her expression and her demeanour showing exactly what she thought of him, or his beliefs at any rate. An angry teenager who thought that the adults around her knew nothing. Scott was not greatly fond of her attitude, but given her troubled past, he was prepared to give her a bit of leeway in terms of expressing herself.

"Would you have preferred if we _had_ found you?" he asked. "You might never have met your father that way."

"I should never have _been_ there in the first place," Alexandra snapped. "If you morons would open your eyes for once and see how much humans want to hurt us, I might never have been taken there! You're so _dumb_, all of you!"

She had crossed the line now.

"All right, Alexandra, if you're going to speak to me like that, you can leave this room right now."

"My name's Gemini, not Alexandra! And you can't talk to me like that, I'm not a kid!" she retorted angrily, her small fists clenched at her sides.

"Actually, you are. Now if you don't mind, I'm rather busy."

Still angry, she spoke, "My dad says you used to treat _him_ this way, telling him to shut up whenever he asked a question you couldn't answer, and you wouldn't take him seriously because you didn't think he was old enough! At least _he_ treats me like I've got a mind of my own!"

Without waiting for a response she stormed from the room. Scott the teacher instinctively made a mental note to talk to the girl's father about her attitude. Then he tried to imagine how such a conversation might go. Pyro thought the world of his daughter, and would be unlikely to respond positively to any criticism of her behaviour, certainly not if it came from Scott. Alexandra seemed to be following in her father's footsteps in many ways, unfortunately. She was stubborn, disrespectful, and didn't seem to appreciate the fact that Scott and the others were giving her a home and an education. Pyro had been exactly the same as a teenager.

But still, Scott knew that his own feelings towards the girl were irrelevant. It was his duty to guide her and help her towards making her own future. It was the same for all the students. It didn't matter if he liked them or disliked them, or if they were receptive or unreceptive to his teaching. The school's duty, indeed its purpose, was the future of these young mutants. Scott knew he couldn't let his own prejudices get in the way of what was still the Professor's work. Xavier had made a policy of opening the school's doors to anyone who needed his help. That ideal would never change.

Gemini tried to put Cyclops out of her mind as she climbed the stairs to the main dormitory corridor, and walked along to her own room. _He's so dumb_, she thought furiously, _I totally can't believe these idiots made him their leader! Well, I guess it's **because** they're idiots. Like, maybe you have to be the dumbest one around to become leader. No wonder Dad left this place as a kid. Dad should be in charge around here, he's way smarter than Cyclops._

Her mind wandered slightly, as a teenager's was prone to do, and she forgot about him. She was nearly at her dorm now. Atlas tried to catch her eye as he went past, but Gemini didn't look at him, instead concentrating on holding her dress against her hips tightly, suspecting he'd try to sneak a look at her panties. He'd probably kneel down to 'tie his lace' or something, and look up her dress as she went past. In the end he didn't. Turning the corner and leaving him behind, she relaxed once more. Running her hand along the richly wooden-panelled wall, she reflected on how strange it still felt to call this place 'home'. This had once been the most dangerous place on Earth, the lair of her enemies, and it had never entered her wildest dreams that she and her father might one day be living here. How things changed. Somebody's life could change drastically in the blink of an eye. She of all people ought to know _that_.

When she got to her room, Cassandra was there, sitting on her bed with one of the little children on her lap. It was one of Accel's friends: Turtle. Gemini could see the small boy had cut himself, and Cassie was gently administering some antiseptic and putting a plaster over the cut. Cassandra loved children, anybody could see that, and it was sad that she'd never been able to start the family she'd wanted to have with Gladiator.

"Hey," said the duplicator.

Cassandra looked up and smiled, "Hey, Gem."

Returning her attention to the child, she pulled his sleeve down over the plaster and said, "You'll be all right now. Just don't run too fast in the kitchen any more, OK?"

"OK," said Turtle.

He left, and Gemini said, "Where's Crusader?"

"Oh, she's taken a little trip down south. To Florida."

"Hey, that's where I used to – I mean, uh – no, forget it. She on her own?"

"No, she took _them_ with her."

No detective work was necessary to deduce who she meant by _them_.

-

-

-

The two people in question stood in the kitchen of the ransacked house, doing their best to prepare an evening meal in the midst of the chaos. Annie was elsewhere in the house, trying to tidy up. They'd found some food still in the freezer, and with the small amount of supplies they'd brought with them, were putting together what was going to have to be called dinner. Gary allowed himself an ironic smile. With Annie having inherited their mother's refusal to eat animal products, and Marina declining to touch any kind of sea food, it was hard enough already to produce something all three of them could eat.

"Good thing I'll eat just about anything," he muttered to himself.

Mum had tried to bring him up as a vegetarian but he'd never seen the value in it. As far as he saw it, people were intended to eat meat. We had the teeth and the digestive system to handle it. Going against what God had designed seemed pointless to him. He smiled at Marina as her hand brushed against his.

"I want to say sorry about earlier," he told her quickly. "I know you aren't ready to make love. I'm really sorry. I guess I lost control."

"You – you mean _we_ lost control."

"But I was the one who – "

"No, we – we both did. Gary, y – you didn't force me into anything. What happened between us only h – happened because we both wanted it. If I hadn't w – wanted it, it w – wouldn't have happened. As it is, I'm just glad A – Annie stopped us before we – before we really lost control."

He held her hand, and sighed, "Oh, Marina…I feel so ashamed of myself. I almost – you – you're so pure and unspoiled, and I almost took that away from you…"

"Gary…"

He stroked her cheek, his touch feather light, and said, "This will sound stupid, but sometimes I'm almost scared to touch you. You're so beautiful and delicate, and I'm so big and stupid and clumsy – I just feel as if I'm bound to hurt you no matter what I do. It's like giving a crystal statue to a rhino – as gentle as he tries to be, eventually he's going to break it. Do you see what I mean?"

"Well, no. I – I'm _not_ a crystal statue. The sooner you realise that…" she stopped uncertainly, and looked away. "I thought you said I was – I was strong."

"You _are_ strong. I didn't mean – "

"That's not what you just said," she swallowed nervously. "Sometimes you sound just like – just like everybody else, acting as if I'm – I'm going to go crazy on you if – if you say the wrong thing, as if I'm just a total basket case who – who doesn't even know where she is."

"No, no, you're looking at it the wrong way! I didn't mean to say you were crazy! I didn't mean to say there was anything wrong with you at all! I was trying to say there was something wrong with _me_. My big dumb brute strength doesn't treat your beauty the way it should."

"Well…OK…you don't think I'm crazy. But – but still, I get that a lot. People think that because I – I have mental problems, then I'm not worth knowing. I've seen the way p – people look at me. They – they try to keep their distance in case I – I start frothing at the mouth or – or something."

"Yeah, well…some people are stupid."

"No, Gary, they aren't stupid. They – they just have a p – preconceived notion of mentally ill people, and they aren't willing to – to make the effort to start any kind of – of relationship. They don't think I'm safe to be around. They – they think my mind doesn't work and like I won't remember their name if they tell it to me."

"Then you have to prove them wrong," he said. "Show them who you really are. Show them how stupid their prejudices are. It's – well, I suppose it's like being a mutant all over again. Force people to see past the surface. Show them there's a person behind the illness."

Marina brightened. It had taken a lot of confidence for her to tell him her fears, and she was reassured by his response. Sometimes she worried: _what if I really **am** crazy_? _What if I do really strange things without realising it? What if I'm getting worse and I'll never be normal again? Do people talk about me behind my back? Do they just pretend to like me? Do people actually dislike me and I just can't see it because I'm crazy? Will Gary and Annie stop liking me because they think I'm crazy?_

She told herself to relax. Gary was her boyfriend and he _did_ love her. Annie was her best friend and loved her too.

_He believes in me_, she told herself.

_Yes, Gary believes in me_, she agreed, _and that's why I love him._

_And Annie does too. If both of them believe I'm strong, then I'll believe it too._

_I'm not crazy._

_No, I'm just a little bit…ill._

_Yes, that's right. I have a mental illness is all. I was hurt by what happened to me. I'm just taking time to recover, that's all._

_I mean, I'm doing better than I was, aren't I? A few months ago I could hardly eat or sleep and I couldn't talk to anyone…_

_Yes. I'm better now._

_Some day I'll be OK again._

She smiled at Gary, and they kissed. She knew she loved him. It was Gary's attitude towards her that had first brought them together. He didn't treat her differently because of her problems. He didn't try to patronise her or treat her as if her brain didn't work. If he had a question about her condition, he would just ask. He wouldn't try to sweeten his request in nice, inoffensive, 'politically correct' language. He was blunt and straightforward, and Marina liked that. She wanted to get over her mental illness. She wanted to be normal again. But she could only feel normal if people treated her that way, and…well…most people didn't. That was why Gary was special. Well, one of the reasons.

When they drew apart, she smiled again, looking happy and carefree. Within an instant the smile was gone, as her troubled mind shifted and she struggled to keep her terrible memories from rising to the surface. Forcing herself to concentrate on something else, she turned back to preparing the evening meal.

Gary watched her, and he pondered as he did so. _It's amazing how different a person can be on the inside from what they are on the outside. When somebody looks at Marina and me, somebody who doesn't know us, they automatically assume I'm the strong one. Because I look big and powerful and protective, and Marina looks small and weak and fragile, they think she's just a pathetic little shadow and I'm only with her because I feel sorry for her, or because she's pretty and I want to take advantage of her. They don't see what she's like on the inside._

He massaged her back gently, and she sighed with contentment.

_She's strong, incredibly strong. She's lost her entire family and everything she loved. Everything she built her life on was snatched away in a moment. Her foundations disappeared and she was left with nothing. How can she possibly keep on going? I can't even begin to imagine how she survives. How can she wake up in the morning and dress and eat and talk and smile and live as if everything is OK? Could I have done the same? No. No way. I'd have lost my mind and gone crazy. I'd have turned into a psychopath like Recyclo, and gone around killing everyone. In fact, I almost **did** do that, back when I thought Marina had been killed by the humans. Marina's not like that. She's different. She's taken the worst that life could possibly have thrown at her, and she's shrugged it off and kept going. She's incredible._

_I respect Marina. People don't see it, maybe she doesn't even see it, but I respect her. I respect her as someone who's survived an ordeal I never could have lived through. I respect her as someone who doesn't need big muscles and lots of mutant powers to make her strong. I actually think she's stronger than I am, a lot stronger. Without my powers, what am I? Just another human being. Without her powers, Marina is still strong. I never realised it before, but it's more than just our mutations that makes us the people we are._

He looked at Marina's small, physically fragile form. It was incredible that such strength could exist inside someone who looked so weak.

_People just don't understand the bond Marina and I have. They think she only likes me because I'm big and strong, and they think I only want her for sex. The truth is the exact opposite. I love her and I like being with her because I don't **have** to be strong to impress her. She loves me because I can see through the mental illness and find the person on the inside. I never let her condition affect the way I think about her. To most people she's 'the girl with the mental problems'. To me she's just Marina, and I love her. It's as if we've made all the old clichés come true, about opposites attracting, about people having perfect soul-mates, and that sort of stuff. Nobody believes in soul-mates until they find their own. Well, I've found mine, and our love is going to last forever._

He gently put his hands on her shoulders, and kissed her softly on her lips.

_Nothing is ever going to take her away from me._

_-_

_-_

_-_

Keeping low, the boy ran on, ducking and twisting around tight corners and through narrow streets as if he was dodging the very raindrops that cascaded down all around him. Casting a glance behind him, he could see nobody, but that didn't mean his pursuers had gone. They knew these streets just as well as he did. For all he knew they could be creeping into a circle around him, blocking off his escape routes.

"There he is!"

Someone had seen him. He fled away down the nearest alleyway, away from the source of the yell.

"Come here, ya wee bastard!" he heard a shout. "Come here, freak!"

Panting hard, the boy kept running, turning left at the first opening he came to, looking for an open door or window that he might duck into to throw off his followers.

"He went this way! Come on!"

Pounding down the narrow street as fast as his legs would carry him, the boy followed the sharp left turn at the end of the alley, and came up against a twelve foot high brick wall. There was no other way to go.

Moments later, four or five bigger lads turned the corner, grinning triumphantly, expecting to see their prey cowering helplessly at the foot of the wall they knew was unclimbable. To their dismay and disbelief, the alleyway before them was empty.

Sinking down on to his knees on the other of the wall, holding his chest and catching his breath, the boy knew he'd had a lucky escape. He thanked whatever guardian angel might be watching over him, and once he had got his breath back, stood and began to walk in the direction of his home. He'd thrown off the pursuit of the bullies yet again, but he knew it wouldn't be the last time he'd have to call on his powers to save him.

It wasn't until he reached the end of this new alleyway that he noticed the three figures standing at the end of the road, watching, as if they were waiting for him. Then they began to move towards him. His first thought was _I'm in trouble_ and he turned to look for a way to escape. There wasn't one. The bullies were on the other side of the wall. Faced with the certain beating he'd receive from the mutant haters, and the potential danger of these others, he decided to take the risk.

"What do you want?" he asked.

Getting closer, he could see they were adults, two men and one woman, probably in their thirties. He had never seen them before. They looked too well dressed to be around _here_. What did they want?

"We're here for you," said one of them. "We know you're a mutant."

Had they been watching his escape? They must have been. How else could they have known he was a mutant? What did they mean, _we're here for you? _Were these guys government? He'd heard rumours that mutants were abducted secretly and put into cages in laboratories. Was that was these people wanted? He tensed, and looked around for a way of escape.

"Hey, hey, relax," said the woman – an American or a Canadian, he couldn't tell which – in a soothing kind of voice. "We're not going to hurt you. We want to help you."

_We want to help you_. As far as the boy knew, nobody ever helped anyone unless they were going to get something in return. What precisely did they want from him? Was it just a ruse to try and gain his trust? Would they wait until they got close to him, then knock him out cold with a drug or something? Something in the woman's voice made him want to trust her, but that was probably a trick too.

"Who are you?" he asked, trying to buy some time so he could think of a way to flee.

"We're mutants."

They were lying. They had to be lying. He'd never met anybody else like him. He'd never known any of his own kind. He didn't know what these people wanted, but he could be pretty certain it wouldn't be good for him. They were simply trying to gain his trust. Trusting these people might well turn out to be the last mistake he ever made.

Unless…if they were telling the truth…if they really _were_ mutants…

"Oh, aye," he challenged. "Prove it."

The second man suddenly reacted, a smirk of sorts appearing on his face, as he opened his hand to reveal a ball of flame, hovering impossibly just above his palm, suspended in mid-air and not appearing to be causing him any harm. The boy kept his surprise from showing on his face. As a lifelong target of bullies, he had trained himself to keep his feelings from showing. Was this real? Did the man really possess some power over the fireball, or was it just another trick? He wanted to get a closer look, but that would mean getting closer to the three adults. That was not a good idea. In fact, that was probably their plan. They wanted him to get closer, so they could grab him and take him away.

"What's your name?" the woman asked.

Which one? The one his parents had chosen before abandoning him at the age of six, or the one he had chosen for himself? The name he had never mentioned or spoken to anybody, the name that he had kept to himself as he tried to keep his powers secret from those who would try to hurt him. Should he tell them his name? Inwardly he shrugged. It wouldn't make much of a difference. If these guys really were government agents – or Suits, as he preferred to call them – then they would already have a file on him. They would already know his name, and where he lived, and everything about him.

"Ian."

"What's your real name, Ian?" asked the man with the fireball.

He hesitated before answering, "Chronos."

Damn it! Why had he told them that? That was a secret that nobody knew! You didn't give information away to the Suits just like that! Something about these people was making him automatically trust them! _No! I have to concentrate! _He guessed that being Suits, these people had special talents for extracting information this way.

"So what do you want?" the boy asked again – _that should give me a few more seconds to plan out my escape._

"We're here to help you. My name's Felicity," said the woman.

Help me? Nice try, Suit. I don't classify helping me into a lab cage as 'help'. Ian knew he had no choice now. Having just used his powers already, it was a supremely bad idea to use them again so soon. But he had no choice. He had to escape the Suits.

"Oh, aye? And what if I don't want any help?" he said, to distract them while he called on his power.

The man with the fireball flicked his fingers impatiently and the flame vanished. The woman was speaking once more, but Ian wasn't listening. He just had to keep them busy for a few more seconds until his power was ready…almost there…just a few more seconds…_good, the female Suit is still talking…_right, I'm ready…_goodbye, Suits…_

And in the blink of an eye, he vanished.

"What the f – " came Pyro's surprised voice. "Where'd he go?"

"He disappeared…" said Shock.

Iceman fired a short burst of ice into the alley's interior. It hit nothing. The boy really had disappeared; he wasn't just standing there invisible.

"Oh well, that's good," said Pyro sarcastically. "We never really factored in the possibility that he wouldn't listen to us, did we? I mean, we're the universally loved X-Men, who wouldn't want to listen to us?"

"Do you think he's a teleporter?" said Shock. "That might explain why he could disappear from Neil's mind."

Iceman shrugged, "Dunno. Kurt could probably tell us."

"So what do we do now?" asked Pyro, absent-mindedly flicking another fireball into existence from the lighter held loosely in his right hand.

"Let's split up and look around a little bit. I have a hunch he hasn't gone too far."

-

It seemed as if he had lost them. For a second, Ian wondered if he really had made the right decision. What if they really _had_ been mutants? There had to be some more in the world _some_where. He'd never met any – that he knew of – but it seemed logical that he would meet some of his own kind one day. Should he have trusted those people? _No, of course not. Don't be stupid._ They were Suits. He could smell a Suit a mile off. They were everywhere. Whenever something happened that the government didn't want people to know about, they sent the Suits out to cover up. Destroying evidence, abducting witnesses, distorting the truth, it was all in a day's work for a Suit. At this moment in time, they were presumably turning their attention towards mutants. Ian guessed that was why those three Suits had come for him. Maybe they had decided his powers were too dangerous to have out on the loose. Maybe it was time to make him conveniently disappear. He had decided not to take any chances, and had used his power to escape. Perhaps it hadn't been such a great idea. Using it twice in such quick succession was never a good idea; he felt drained, exhausted and spent. Hopefully he had enough to strength to stumble back to his foster home where he could only hope he would have enough strength in the morning to outwit the bullies again. Of course, the bullies were the least of his worries now he had the Suits to contend with. What if they came for him? What if they came to his foster house and took him? He had to run. He didn't know where, but he had to run. Maybe he could flee the country. Yes. That was the only option. The Suits might lose track of him if he fled abroad. He had to get home _now_, pack what he could, and run.

Breathing hard, feeling pain in every muscle, bone and joint of his body, he staggered on as best he could, every movement bringing a fresh onslaught of agony. He knew that using his power too much would kill him. It almost had on more than one occasion. The longer he used it in one go, the more time he displaced, the worse the pain would be. As he grew older it seemed to be getting easier, though. He could displace time for longer periods with less pain afterwards. Either his body was growing stronger or he was simply becoming more experienced at doing it; probably a combination of the two.

Chronos. Master of Time. That was what he wanted to be. He desperately wanted to find out just how much his power would grow until he reached full adulthood. Now at the age of thirteen, he knew he had to be careful. He wasn't ready to use his mutation to its full extent at the moment. Too many young mutants had probably been in this situation, discovering their awesome abilities and using them too much too soon, burning out quick and fast. He suspected that was the main reason why mutants had yet to overthrow the humans and take their rightful places as rulers of the world. There were no guiding hands, no grown mutants who could teach children to use their powers gradually until they were ready. It should be like _Star Wars_, he decided. He'd always been a fan of that old film. The guy who made it had probably got his ideas from hearing about mutants and their powers. The master and apprentice thing was what intrigued him the most. That was the way mutants ought to handle things. Chronos knew he was young and didn't have enough experience with his power or with life in general. He needed a guide, a master, someone who could protect him from the Suits until he was ready to make his own way.

So deep in thought was he, that he didn't notice the dark figures shadowing him until it was too late. He wasn't far from his foster parents' house, but he turned the next corner to find himself completely surrounded. The bullies had picked up reinforcements from somewhere, and seven or eight of them hemmed him in from all sides, blocking off all possible exits. Chronos looked for any way of escape that they might not have noticed, but there were none. The only way to avoid a beating now was by using time displacement, but he knew he hadn't the strength to do it. How he'd laughed when he'd used his power earlier, freezing time for the few seconds it took him to scramble over the twelve foot wall. When time was stopped, gravity too had no power over him. And how he had laughed at the expressions of surprise on the faces of the three Suits when he had frozen time again. How he was not laughing now…

The first punch caught him on the jaw, knocking him into the grasp of the ned behind him. His arms were held tightly behind his back as the rest of them, laughing, closed the circle, and began delivering kicks and punches from all sides. Chronos spat blood as someone's fist smacked into his mouth, and he doubled up in pain as a boot connected with his ribs.

"Think he's had enough?" a voice sneered.

"Well, he's still alive, isn't he?"

"Fucking mutant. Let's kill the freak!"

Laughter and agreement. Another blow to the jaw. A boot to the kneecap, and he stumbled and fell forward on to his hands and knees. Blood dribbled from his mouth into the muddy puddles, as he struggled to get to his feet. Strong hands grabbed the back of his neck and held him down, pushing his head into the puddle, forcing his face beneath the water.

"Yeah, kill the freak!"

His head was lifted again and Chronos gasped for air. _I'll kill you_, he thought furiously, _when I'm Master of Time I'll kill every last one of you_. He was pushed under the water again, and this time they did not let him back up. He struggled frantically, desperate for air, but had no strength to escape them. He lost consciousness.

Shock turned the corner to find them, the six or seven older boys holding the smaller boy's head under the water. It was the mutant, the boy who had somehow disappeared from them earlier. At the moment it didn't matter who he was. Felicity would have done the same for anybody in this situation.

"Hey!" she yelled.

The neds looked up. Seeing only a blonde woman who posed them no apparent threat, they ignored her. Felicity grew angry. She had been bullied often as a child because of her mutation, and this incident recalled several similar occasions from her own past.

"You've got one last chance to let him go!" she told them.

Their response was dismissive, "Piss off or we'll have you on your back."

Felicity's hand was out in an instant, individual lightning bolts leaping from each finger to hit the youths. They had been relatively small shocks; she certainly hadn't intended to injure them, yet still she felt a little guilty when the neds screamed in pain and clutched at their burned skin. It didn't feel right to be using her power to hurt those weaker than her, those who couldn't defend themselves. Then she cast those thoughts out of her mind as she ran forward to help the nearly drowned boy. The bullies had fled, running as fast as they could to avoid any more lightning bolts, and Fliss was now alone with the unconscious figure of the boy – what was his name? – Ian.

Gently rolling him on to his front, she put her ear to his mouth and felt him breathing. That was good. But he was weak and there might be water in his lungs. She decided the best thing was to take him back to the school with them. Leaving him here at the mercy of these bullies was not an option for her. Flipping the switch on her communicator, she said, "I've found him. He's in a bad way. One of you go get the jet ready. I'll be there soon."

Lifting the child's unmoving form Fliss wondered, as she had starting doing often, what it would feel like to have a child of her own. In truth she'd never really considered it over the years, not until recently anyway. She'd had a brief relationship with Shapeshifter when she was very young, but since then she had not found any man with which she might like to have anything more than friendship. She'd fancied Oculus once, but then who hadn't? He was cute, he was powerful, yet he had that sense of uncertainty and vulnerability that made a woman want to stay with him and comfort him. Of course, he was forbidden territory. He had loved Chloe always. Fliss sometimes felt a little resentful of the fact that she'd never even had a chance to try and win his heart.

Other than that there had been nobody. It wasn't as if she didn't know any men. The trouble was, the ones she knew she either didn't like much, or she liked but were already spoken for: Iceman, Oculus, Nightcrawler, they were all taken. The one guy who didn't fall into either of those two categories was Shapeshifter. It was strange really, to adopt a child together when they knew they were never going to be husband and wife. Fliss couldn't explain why she knew they'd never fall in love again. It just felt obvious, like the way a person knew they would never fall in love with their brother or sister. She often worried that Marina might be suffering from having foster parents who weren't married, but so far they had encountered no problems.

Brushing the boy's damp, dirty hair from in front of his eyes, she said softly, "It's OK, honey, we won't let them hurt you again."

Then she left the alleyway and walked the short distance to where they had left the cloaked aircraft.

-

-

-

The second he woke, Gary knew something was wrong. His tired brain couldn't quite pin down the feeling, and he opened his eyes to painfully greet the early morning light. He found himself lying under a blanket on the bedroom floor beside the bed, on which he could see Marina's sleeping form, rising and falling in time to her breathing. _Wait a minute…Annie told me to sleep downstairs…_

Then it hit him.

"No…" a girl's voice moaned from his throat.

Pushing the blanket aside, he gingerly got to his feet, struggling to balance in a body that was the wrong shape. Looking into Marina's bedroom mirror, his heart sank.

_Oh no…_

He was Annie. He was in her body. During the night, their minds had switched places. Annie was wearing a T-shirt and shorts, and he was thankful for that. She usually took care to wear night-clothes that he wouldn't be uncomfortable with if their minds happened to switch when they woke up. The experience was terrifying enough without having female underwear to contend with.

"Why does this keep _happening_?" Gary in Annie's body sobbed, tears of frustration and terror forming in her eyes.

She was afraid to move. The sensations were just too strange. The extra weight on her chest, the way her hips swayed, the different shape of her body…it was too frightening for somebody who was already in tears. The girl's body sank down on to her knees, her hands over her face, and cried hysterically, tears pouring through her fingers. Her hormones were going crazy, with a mind that didn't know how to deal with them.

_I'm not a girl! Let me change back! Let me change back! **Please** let me change back!_

Marina was beginning to stir. Through a blur of tears, Gary looked through Annie's eyes at the clock on the wall. _Shit, how long has it been? It never normally lasts more than a few minutes. What if this time I don't change back? What if this time I'm stuck forever? Oh, please God, no-o-o-o-o_……

For a moment there was nothingness, then Gary opened his eyes. Breathing hard, he found himself lying on the living room floor downstairs. He jerked upwards, looking down at his body, breathing hard. Relief flooded through him as he found himself in his own form once more. _Oh God, thank you. Thank you for letting me change back._ He stood, and looked in the living room mirror. Yes, he was Gary again. He wasn't his sister. He wasn't a girl. Hearing footsteps on the stairs, he turned to see his sister hurrying down towards him.

"Annie…"

"Oh, Gary…"

They sank to their knees in each other's arms, holding on tightly and letting their relief flow through each other.

"Why does this keep _happening_?" he said again, this time in his own voice.

"I don't know, I don't know," she said breathlessly. "It's getting worse. I lose control every time it happens…"

"Annie," he began. "I don't know how to say this, but…we're supposed to be the most powerful mutants in the world. We're supposed to be able to face up to anything and protect the world from any danger that comes along. How are we supposed to do that when this is happening to us?"

She didn't have an answer. Exhausted and scared, the two of them continued to clutch each other. That was how Marina found them when she came downstairs a few minutes later.

-

-

-

It seemed to be one of the unbreakable laws of the universe. Whenever a guy wanted to speak to a girl alone, he could guarantee that he would never find her without at least two of her friends thrown in. In this case it was Vertigo and Gemini; they hadn't left Cassandra's side all morning, or so it had seemed. Dominic sighed and looked at his watch. He only had limited time to work up his courage before he had to leave.

He looked up. Something was happening. Maybe this could be his chance. The ninja and the duplicator were moving off somewhere else, and Cassandra was alone. This was it. This was the moment he had been waiting for. He moved forward, trying not to appear too fast or too eager. As he approached, however, Cassandra was already turning to greet the arrival of another of her friends. It was the fast-running little girl whose name Dominic couldn't remember. The child was showing off the new pink dress she was wearing.

"What do you think?" she asked proudly, performing a little twirl.

"Ooh, very pretty," Cassandra smiled. "What's the occasion, Accel?"

"There isn't one; I just like wearing it."

"Well, if you're going to look so pretty, maybe we _should_ have an occasion."

The child was about to reply, when she saw Dominic approaching. She looked up at him innocently, holding Cassandra's hand, "Hi."

"Hi," he said, then turned to Cassandra. "Um, can I talk to you?"

"Sure."

He struggled for words, his confidence slipping, "Um, my parents phoned me this morning. I'm going to go home and visit them for a few days. D'you – d'you wanna come with me?"

Surprise crossed her face, "What, you mean – to London?"

"Yeah. They, uh, they're always saying I should bring one of my friends with me from the school."

"And you're asking _me_?"

Dominic hated this now. He wished he had never started this. He wished this wasn't happening. He wished he could be anywhere else in the world right now. What had he been _thinking_? He'd come up and asked her straight away without even trying to work up to it subtly. This was just _not_ the way to ask a girl for a date. For all he knew, she had no feelings towards him whatsoever. He hated being here with the child looking up at him uncertainly and Cassandra probably thinking he was nuts. He couldn't bring himself to say anything, and she eventually said, "Well, I'm flattered, I guess…but why me? I mean, I don't really know you. Why not one of the guys? Vertigo maybe."

"Well, 'cause – " he hesitated.

Maybe he should just forget it. Maybe he should just say 'Yeah, Vertigo would be a better idea' and back off. It was obvious Cassandra wasn't interested. Maybe he should wait until she had been here a little longer before he tried to talk to her again. He didn't know exactly what had come over him. She was driving him wild and he couldn't control it. She was also waiting for him to finish. Oh, what the hell. If he was going to be turned down, he might as well get his feelings out.

" – 'cause I think I'm in love with you," he blurted out.

Cassandra sighed. She patted the little girl's hand and said, "Accel, you run on and find Gemini, OK honey? Tell her I'll be there in a minute. Ask her to help you with your math homework."

"OK, Cassie."

The girl hurried away, giving Dominic a last curious glance as she went. What had he been talking about, she wondered? How could he say he loved Cassie? Acceleratus didn't want anybody else to love Cassie. She wanted Cassie to love _her_. She'd never had parents or a family or anyone that loved her. Cassie had been the first person to show her any kind of affection. She was somewhere between a mother and an older sister, the seven year old had decided, and Accel knew she wasn't willing to share Cassie with anyone else.

"Listen, Helios – " Cassandra began uncertainly.

"Call me Dominic," he said.

"I prefer mutant names. Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm not looking for a date. Let's leave it at that."

"Well, it doesn't _have_ to be a date. We could just be friends," he said hopefully, encouraged by the lack of an outright dismissal.

Cassandra sighed once more. She had given up on men. During the previous two months of her life, she had had no less than two guys tell her they loved her and wanted to stay with her forever. First was Overlord – always charming, always smiling, he of the silver tongue and the angel eyes – and she'd believed him. Two minutes into their first 'date', however, before she even knew what was happening, her panties were already on the floor. It had taken all of her willpower and pride to pull away from the magnetic power of those angel eyes, and escape from his serpentine lust.

Then there had been Gladiator. He too had confessed his undying love, and again – like a stupid, blind idiot – she had believed. In the back of her mind she had always known, or at least suspected, that he was still pining for Aqua, but she had allowed herself to ignore it, since Aqua was dead. Then it had turned out the water-whore was still alive, and Gladiator had suddenly forgotten Cassandra existed. Typical male. And he had seen her naked…she felt so ashamed every time she looked at him, remembering all the times they had lain together in bed, coming so close to making love but never quite feeling the time was right. She hated Gladiator and she hated Aqua for ruining her love and her hopes for the future. And it was that, more than anything else, that suddenly changed her mind.

"Sure. I'll come with you."

Helios looked surprised.

"But only as a friend," she added.

No more dating. Men weren't worth it. She had already been suckered into having her heart broken twice. She'd have to be majorly stupid to allow it to happen a third time. But still, she wanted desperately to be away from here, just for a few days, away from Gladiator and Aqua. She hated seeing them looking so happy together; that happiness and that love should have been _hers_. It _had_ been hers until Aqua had stolen it away! How she longed for revenge on either of them, preferably both. Maybe a disaster would come along and she wouldn't forewarn them about it. Then she thought: _No. I can't think like that. They're not worth it. I can lead my life without feeling jealous. Because I'm not jealous. That's right, I'm not. I don't care. They can kiss and fuck each other all they like and I won't be missing a thing._

Helios was saying something. She smiled at him, "Sorry?"

"I said I'm leaving in about twenty minutes; you'll need to get your stuff together."

"Sure. Sure. I'll meet you here when I'm done. It's just for a couple of days, right?"

He grinned, "Right."

They turned and headed for their separate rooms, when he heard her say, "Helios?"

"Yeah?"

"Just friends, right? That's my condition. Just friends."

"Whatever you say."

She sighed. When guys heard the words 'I just want to be friends' they interpreted it as 'I like you but I need some more convincing if I'm going to date you'. It just made them even more eager to impress. But she reckoned Helios wasn't as bad as most. Perhaps he would come to respect her request. They'd both taken part in helping with the kids' swimming lesson earlier, and he hadn't tried to touch or ogle her swimsuit-clad body once. But that didn't mean she wanted to date him. She would go with him to London because she desperately wanted to get away, and because she liked seeing new places. Not because she liked Helios in particular. Certainly not as anything more than a friend.

-

-

-

Felicity gently laid down the child in the infirmary. The boy's breathing was shallow and lacked any kind of rhythm. Perhaps he had taken injuries from the beating. Pyro watched from the entrance as Oculus laid his hands on the boy's chest, and passed his healing power into the child. After a few moments, Fliss smiled. His breathing was now strong and regular, and his skin seemed healthier and less pale.

"So this is the anomaly," said Neil.

"I guess so," Fliss said. "He calls himself Chronos. We think that means he has some power over time. His real name is Ian."

"He disappeared in front of our eyes," Pyro added. "My guess is he altered time in some way to give the illusion that he'd vanished. Maybe he can freeze time altogether. It explains the name he's chosen."

Neil said, "If that's the case, it might also explain why he disappeared from my telepathy. If he can manipulate time, then it's possible he was there one second and somewhere else the next."

"So this has nothing to do with Magneto or the helmet material?"

"It would seem not."

"So what do we do with him?" asked the fire mutant.

"Doesn't that depend on him?" said Fliss. "If he wants to stay, I guess we look after him. If he wants to go home, I suppose we try to teach him how to defend himself before he goes."

"Let me know when he wakes," said Neil. "I'm curious about his power."

"Sure. I'll watch over him," she said. "John, can you take my class this afternoon?"

"_Me_?" came the surprised response.

"Yeah, my notes are on my desk."

"Well…OK…I guess…"

Part of Neil's feeling of uneasiness was relieved. The anomaly had been explained, and it wasn't the devilish hidden threat he had thought it might be. It was a child, albeit one with a potentially awesome power. Like he himself had been once. He remembered the care Xavier had taken to ensure that Neil did not end up on the wrong path. Could he ensure that he did the same for this child? He didn't know. Still feeling uncertain, he left the infirmary.

-

-

-

"I still can't get used to the heat in this country," Gary panted, as he plucked his shirt away from his skin to cool himself down. "And the sunlight…ugh…"

He and Annie were both wearing powerful sunglasses to protect their mutant eyes from the intense glare of the morning sun. Gary hated it; he'd never had any problems with bright lights before 'inheriting' his sister's powers. Marina smiled at him, smoothing down her skirt, her hand loosely holding his, "It gets pretty cold in this country too, you know."

"Any time soon?"

"No, I – I'm afraid not."

"Ah, well. Sleep OK last night?"

Marina nodded, "You?"

"Yeah," said Gary and Annie together.

They didn't tell her about the terror of waking up in each other's bodies. They were trying to forget it had happened, even though they knew it was only going to happen again. Annie hefted one of the bags of food they had bought at the local store, "The sooner we get this back to the house, the better. I'm starving."

"I second that," Gary agreed. "You know, Marina, I was thinking about the missing computers again, and what might be on them. Your family didn't have any criminal records or anything, did they? I know that's not a nice question but, well, it might give us an answer."

Marina shook her head, "No, they had nothing like that. They were – they were just normal people, Gary. All right, they spent a bit more time in the water than most, but that's the only unusual thing about them."

"And you're sure your brother didn't have some more secretive role in the navy that nobody told you about?"

"Of course I'm sure! My brother didn't have an ounce of deceit in him! There's no way he could have lied to us about that!"

"OK, sorry. It's just…that seems to be the only lead we have to go on. I can't think of anything else."

Annie frowned, and was about to say something when they noticed a man in front of them, walking in the opposite direction, about to pass by.

"Morning," he smiled pleasantly, and the teenagers returned his greeting.

As the man was passing Marina, he stopped and said, "Miss Forrester?"

"Y – yes?"

Everything seemed to move in slow motion as the man, lightning fast, pulled a gun from a hidden holster inside his jacket. A red laser dot appeared on Marina's forehead as he aimed. Gary reacted fastest, knocking Marina to the ground and throwing himself on top of her, shielding her with his own body. The man saw Annie's hand rising, assumed she too had a weapon, and he brought his gun to bear on her, his hand squeezing the trigger once, twice, three times.

One down, two to go, he told himself confidently, already turning his attention to the two kids on the ground. It was a brave and selfless gesture for the boy to protect the girl the way he had, but ultimately meaningless. She would just die a few seconds later than him. It was about then that the man realised something was amiss.

Annie lowered her hand, and the suspended bullets dropped to the ground.

"What the f – " the man gasped.

His gun did the rest of the thinking for him, as he aimed it at Annie once more and fired, kept firing until he had emptied the clip. To his disbelief and horror, the bullets bounced off the girl's outstretched hand and fell harmlessly to the floor. He was instinctively reaching for more ammo when an arm gripped him around the neck. He turned his head; it was the boy, on his feet once more. The other girl, the Forrester girl, looked on nervously. The grip around his neck tightened.

"Who the hell are you?" the boy demanded. "What do you want?"

The arm around his neck was beginning to restrict his breathing, and Watcher Delta desperately slammed a fresh clip into his pistol. Before he could raise it, however, the boy twisted his wrist and the gun fell to the ground. _Damn_ it! The man struggled to escape from the impossibly strong grip of the teenager. He managed to twist round and punched the boy's jaw, then raised his knee into the boy's groin, but to no effect. The kid gave no sign of pain.

"I said: who the hell _are_ you?"

Watcher Delta gasped as the grip around his neck tightened further. There was no escape. There was only one way out of this. He bit down hard with his upper right molars.

The man fell limp in Gary's grip, and Marina gasped in shock, "You _killed_ him!"

Gary instinctively let go, and the dead body dropped to the floor.

"I didn't! I wasn't squeezing him _that_ hard!" he protested.

Annie hurried over and knelt beside the dead man.

"I promise you I didn't!" Gary said, appealing to a frightened Marina who was looking at him uncertainly.

"You're right," said Annie. "He poisoned himself. Look."

The fourteen year-olds crouched down beside her to look where she was pointing.

"Fake tooth," she explained. "Loaded with some lethal substance, I'll bet. He bit down on it himself."

"But – but why would he do that?" Marina asked in bewilderment.

"I have no idea," said Annie. "I didn't have enough time to read his mind."

"He tried to kill us," Gary said.

Marina shook her head, "No – he tried to kill _me_. He – he said 'Miss Forrester', remember? He was trying to kill _me_."

"But why would anyone want to do that?"

"I – I have no idea. Like Annie said last night, m – most people probably don't even know I'm alive."

Annie looked up from where she was still crouched over the dead would-be killer, "Well, obviously somebody does. Somebody must have been watching when we came to the house yesterday."

"But why would anybody want to kill Marina?" asked Gary. "What's she ever done to hurt anyone?"

His sister didn't answer the question. She looked down at the corpse once more, "This guy must have killed himself to keep something secret. I reckon he committed suicide so that nobody could capture him and force any information out of him. Maybe he saw me blocking the bullets, figured out I was a mutant, and guessed I might be telepathic, or decided he just couldn't take the risk."

"I don't get it," Gary went on, as if he hadn't heard her. "If somebody wanted to kill you or me, I could understand it. We're the world's strongest mutants, and some people would obviously want us out of the way. But Marina…I don't understand. Why would anyone want to kill her?"

"What if there's a connection between this and the mess at the house?" Annie said thoughtfully. "We already established that somebody turned the house inside-out and stole the computers because they were looking for information. But what if it wasn't information that somebody wanted to find, but instead information that somebody wanted _destroyed_? What if they stole the computers to prevent anybody else finding what might be on them? What if they tried to kill Marina because they thought she might know this 'information', whatever it is?"

"And – and who are 'they' exactly?" Marina asked.

Brother and sister exchanged glances. Neither of them could think of anything.

"We have no idea," they said together.

"So what do we do?"

"Let's call the school," Annie decided. "If somebody is after Marina, we have to tell the other X-Men. And maybe they can help us take a look at this guy and try to work out who he is and what he wants with her."


	7. Chapter Six: Second Terror Attack

"Watcher Delta, report. Watcher Delta, come in."

Minutes passed with no response.

"Watcher Delta, do you copy?"

The radio operator pulled off his headphones and shook his head, "Sorry, sir. We've heard nothing for the past two hours. I've checked the equipment and there's no faults."

The man standing behind him forced the knot of anxiety in his stomach to go away. There could only be one reason why Watcher Delta wasn't reporting. And that was because Watcher Delta was dead. He must have used his poison tooth. This wasn't good. The man didn't care about the death – Watcher Delta was merely a tool to be used, an asset to be thrown away when it had outlived its usefulness – but he was still worried. Had Watcher Delta managed to kill the Forrester girl before he himself died? Perhaps. Perhaps not. He couldn't afford to take the chance. The girl might not even know anything, but again, he couldn't take the chance. When knowledge was lacking, assumptions had to be made. And he had learned always to make assumptions of the worst case. So he assumed the Forrester girl was alive and in possession of knowledge he had already taken great risks to destroy. Frustration and impatience crept in. Why was one fourteen year old child so difficult to kill? Two attempts on her life had now proved unsuccessful. The rest of her family had died easily enough.

"Tell Eight to send some men down that way," he decided. "If the Forrester girl is still alive, snuff her out. Oh, and tell them to burn the Forrester house to the ground. We can't take the chance there's still something there."

"Yes, sir."

The man turned away and left the room. He needed to be alone. There were decisions to be made. Perhaps it was time to set up a meeting with the rest of the Twelve. Before that, however, he had a phone call to make.

-

-

-

The President of the United States sat at his desk, alone in the Oval Office, reading over yet another set of proposals for a Mutant Registration Act. This particular topic had been the subject of many a raging debate between himself and his fellow politicians over the last few months. It was what – over two decades? – since mutant registration had been first proposed by Senator Kelly, and still the thorny issue had not been resolved. What the President knew, and what he believed was in most people's best interests for them _not_ to know, was how close the Apocalypse mutants had come to destroying the world. He knew that the only reason he was still alive and breathing was due to the success of a desperate counter-strike launched by another group of mutants. He knew that mutant registration could not be allowed to happen. He knew that the world owed their lives to these people, but unfortunately it wasn't as simple as just telling the world that. There were a lot of things about the Apocalypse incident that even the President didn't know, such as who had authorised the Apocalypse Project in the first place, and why that person had never informed him of its existence. Or why a convicted and multiple life-sentenced biochemical weapons researcher had been allowed out of prison to work on said project. He was determined to find out who was responsible for these things.

_How can so much be going on behind my back_? he demanded silently, _how can these projects be funded and maintained without my approval or knowledge_? _The worst part is, if the public ever **do **__find out, I'll be the one who gets the blame. The buck stops with me, I'm the top man. If only it really were that simple. It's quite obvious that there are people out there with their own agendas, who are perfectly willing to use me a shield to deflect blame and accountability away from themselves._

He was distracted from his thoughts by the ringing of a telephone. It was the high security line that he used for direct calls to his counterparts in Western Europe.

"President Howard speaking."

"Good morning, Mr President," came the response. "I hope this is not an inappropriate time."

_I know that voice…_

"You!" the President shouted angrily. "How the _hell_ did you get on this line?"

"I hardly find that relevant. I give you your instructions for the next round of voting at the UN security council."

"My _instructions_?! Listen asshole, I'm not dancing to your tune or anybody else's!"

A low chuckle, "Really, now that is sad. It would be a pity if your daughter didn't live to see her sixteenth birthday."

"Damn you to _hell_!" but the President knew he was beaten. "If I ever find out who you are, you bastard – "

"I wouldn't worry about that. You'll never know who I am. Even my own father couldn't tell you. Now, this is what you will do – "

-

-

-

"Are you _serious_?" came the angry voice over the communicator.

"I'm afraid so," Gary replied. "We don't know what's behind any of this yet."

"Are you telling me that somebody is trying to kill my daughter and you don't even know _why_? What the _hell_ have you led her into, Gladiator?!" Shapeshifter yelled furiously.

The part of Annie that was inside Gary calmed him down. He said, "We're going to stay here and try to make sense of this. You guys ought to take a look at the dead man and find out what you can. We've already searched him for any clues but we didn't find anything."

"The first thing to do is get Marina to safety," came Shapeshifter's voice. "I'll be over to pick her up in one of the jets."

"She wants to stay here. There's something else going on. Somebody broke into her house and stole the computers. We think they were looking for information…"

"Marina can tell me about it when I get there. Goodbye, Gladiator."

"Wait! Look, if someone is trying to kill her, the safest place she can be is with us – with Annie and me. Bringing her back to the school will just make everybody there a target!"

"Listen, boy, don't tell me how to look after my own daughter!" came the angry response.

Gary was just as heated with his reply, "She isn't your daughter! She wants to stay down here where her real family lived! This is where she belongs!"

Annie's calm voice came over the channel; she had to be using one of the other communicator handsets, "Gary, Chris, calm down. You both agree that Marina's safety is the most important thing, and that's my priority too. We will stay by her side every moment from now on to protect her from danger. I swear it. There's something strange going on down here. The way that man attacked, it was almost as if somebody was _watching_ and waiting for us. We don't know why he attacked, but we can only assume Marina's family had enemies. Presumably the same people who raided her house. If only we knew exactly what they were looking for."

"If you're right about them wanting her dead to keep some treasured information secret," said Gary. "It must be something big. But I can't think what, and neither can Marina. She doesn't know anything about anything big and important."

"She knows about the mansion and everything inside it," suggested Chris. "That information must be worth something to somebody."

"Yes, but who'd want to keep it a secret except ourselves?" Annie said. "We're hardly going to kill one of our own."

"True. Maybe it was an anti-mutant attack. She didn't let anyone see her using her powers or anything, did she?"

"I don't think so. The guy looked completely horrified when he saw me using mine, so I'm assuming he had no idea we were mutants."

"And you said he killed himself," Shapeshifter mused. "Look, I'm coming down there. I want to talk to Marina. If she can convince me to let her stay with you, then I'll do that. Otherwise, she's coming back here with me. I'll be down in about an hour. I'll tell the others."

"OK. Thanks," said Annie.

The channel ceased. Sitting in the shelter provided by the side wall of the house, Gary switched off his communicator and turned to Marina, "Your dad's coming down here. He wants to take you back to the school."

Marina shook her head, "I – I'm staying _here_. I have to know what this is all about. I have to find out what's going on here."

"I know, that's what I told them. Marina, don't you have _any_ idea what this might be about? Anything at all that might explain it? Has anyone in your family ever worked for the government, or the police? Something that might give them access to sensitive information?"

"No! I keep _telling_ you, Gary, my – my family were completely normal people! I wish you'd stop trying to look for mysteries that aren't there!"

"Well, what other explanation is there?"

"I don't _know_! I've never done anything to make anybody want to kill me! And like Annie said before, nobody even knows I'm alive! I should have died in the boating accident!"

Suddenly something occurred to Marina. Her eyes widened and she looked at her boyfriend, "Gary, I just thought of something. What if – what if it _wasn't_ an accident?"

"You mean – "

"That guy just – just tried to kill me. What if – what if that wasn't the first time they tried? What if somebody sunk our boat _deliberately_?"

"You mean sabotage?"

"Yeah! If they thought somebody in my family had whatever information, they must have decided to silence all of us!"

Gary said nothing for a moment, considering the possibility. There was no reason why it couldn't be correct. It was true that they had no idea exactly what had caused the 'accident'. Marina had always maintained that it couldn't be the simplest explanation of navigating on to a rock or some other hazard; every member of her family was too experienced a boat handler for that to happen.

"How did it happen?" he asked. "I mean, how did the boat start going down?"

"I dunno. I was asleep and I just woke up to find my cabin flooding with water. I didn't have any time to think about what might have – what might have caused it. I – I just had to get out."

"If you're right about it being sabotage," Gary said. "Then your family had to be a target because of something they knew. Something they never told you."

"But there _isn't_ anything!" she protested. "I'm sure there isn't!"

He went on, "And now whoever it is, is trying to finish the job. You survived – you've survived two attempts on your life now – but we can bet they'll keep trying. Whatever it is they're trying to cover up, it must be absolutely vital to them."

"But I don't _know_ anything!" Marina insisted. "There isn't any information I can give away!"

"Then it must be one of your family. One of them must have known something."

She had given up arguing now, and simply shook her head resignedly, "They didn't…"

"I just had an idea," Gary said. "Your brother; you said he worked as a radio operator for the navy."

"Y – yeah."

"That must be it. He must have intercepted some secret communication. He must have found out something he wasn't supposed to."

Marina sighed heavily, and looked away, "I suppose that could be it…I can't believe he wouldn't _tell_ me, though…"

Gary shrugged, then said, "Shapeshifter should get here soon. Hopefully the X-Men can take a look at that dead guy and try to work out who he is, and who sent him."

"Yeah," she agreed, but her mind was elsewhere. "Gary, give me a few minutes, OK? I wanna be alone. If – if somebody killed my family deliberately, then – then – well, it's hard for me to accept, all right? Just give me a few minutes."

"Right."

"I'll be down on the beach."

Gary watched as Marina stood up and walked away from him, heading towards the sparkling blue of the Atlantic Ocean. He wanted to go with her, to be there for her, to comfort her, but he had to respect her wish to be alone. He couldn't understand how she was feeling – the telepathy he had 'inherited' from Annie was not as developed as he would have liked it to be. Nor was he sure exactly how he himself felt about this. He had always thought of Marina as the victim of a tragic unforeseeable circumstance, and had devoted himself to her, both of them hoping that she would someday be able to recover from the experience. Now it seemed this was not the case. Her family hadn't been lost; they had been taken from her. She was not a victim of circumstance; she was a victim of those who had murdered her loved ones. She would not be able to get over this until she knew who was responsible and why. Had she ever considered this possibility? Had she ever wondered whether it hadn't been an accident after all? He didn't know. He had never felt comfortable talking about the incident, and had avoided it whenever possible since he knew it would hurt her. Gary stood, and went to look for Annie. Maybe she could probe Marina's mind a little deeper than he could, and try to understand how she was feeling.

"Gary?"   
Just as he was thinking about his sister, her voice came from inside the house. Gary called back, "What's up?"

"I think I've found something. Can you give me a hand?"

He walked inside. When he found her, Annie was in the dining room, facing the blank wall in front of her. She glanced round as he entered the room, then she said, "There's something in here."

"Where?"

"Inside the wall. I was looking through the wall to check you weren't touching Marina, and I spotted something buried between the bricks."

"What is it?"

"Take a look for yourself."

Gary sighed and stood beside her. He wasn't good at this. Annie seemed to be able to use her X-ray eyesight without even thinking, but for him it was a battle of perseverance every time. Nevertheless he tried hard now, forcing his eyes to focus beyond the wall in front of him. At first he was getting nowhere; his eyes kept instinctively jumping back to focus on the wall. Then he had success, but only in looking through to the outside of the house. He could see the summer patio where he and Marina had just been sitting. He could see Marina walking down towards the beach, her bare arms and legs moving with a grace and smoothness that almost broke his concentration. He didn't always take notice of it, but she really was incredibly sexy when she dressed this way. Gary knew he shouldn't be thinking about Marina that way, but he couldn't help it. When he had first known her, she had been so upset and traumatised that she hadn't cared one jot about her appearance, but now that she was beginning to recover, she was rediscovering the effect that her body could have. While her shyness and uncertainty implied a certain modesty, Marina was slowly developing a mischievous and confident streak that allowed her to dress more provocatively. Annie frowned on it, but didn't try to stop it. It was a phase, she said. Gary couldn't remember Annie ever going through it, but maybe she was different.

"Stop looking at Marina," Annie chided, breaking into his thoughts. "Bring your eyes back – slowly! – concentrate. Can you see it?"

"Yeah…what is it?"

Inside the wall, between the inner and outer layers of bricks, a package of some kind was wedged. It was wrapped tightly in some kind of grey protective foam.

"What is it?" Gary repeated.

"I'm not sure," Annie said. "It's obviously been hidden in there for some reason."

"You think it's what this whole thing is about? You think it's what the house was searched for, what Marina's family were killed to keep secret?"

"I'm assuming it must be. I'll see if I can find some way to get it out. It won't be easy; whoever searched the house clearly never managed to find it. You go and keep your eye on Marina, in case she's attacked again. And don't touch her!"

"I won't do anything she isn't comfortable with."

-

Marina's body trembled as she walked along, though she knew not for sure which emotion was causing it. Was it fear? Was she afraid of the fact that she was without doubt the target of unknown forces? Was it anger? Was she angry at the fact – it seemed so obvious now – that her family had been murdered in front of her eyes? Was it guilt? Was she guilty at not being able to use her water powers to protect those in greatest need? Could she have done more to save her family? Had they really all been dead already when she'd found them? Could one or more of them still have been alive? Had she swum to the surface too quickly, thinking only of herself? Beneath the water Marina knew she was peerless: a better swimmer than any fish; stronger than any whale; more ingenious than any dolphin; more deadly than any shark. And yet, despite that, her family had drowned when she might have rescued them. _Was it my fault_? she asked herself, _could I have used my power to save them? Could I have breathed for them and stopped them from drowning_? She would never know now what might have happened if she had done things differently. Marina closed her eyes. Images of her drowned relatives instantly appeared in her mind. The dead, floating bodies were looking at her, accusing stares in their empty, soulless eyes. _I killed__ them_, she thought a voice spoke in her mind, _I am a murderer._

_No. I didn't kill anyone_, another part of her argued.

_I left them to drown while I saved myself._

_No. They were already dead._

_I could have saved them and I didn't even try._

_No. It was too late._

_I don't know that for sure._

_I'll never know._

Marina opened her eyes, and the images were replaced by the sand and the sea in front of her. She sat down on a large rock just by the shoreline, and stared unseeingly into the ocean. Somewhere out there, somewhere in the depths of the Atlantic, rested the remains of the boat and her loved ones, as well as the torn-up shreds of her sanity. She couldn't see how she was as strong as Annie and Gary made out. She felt as if she might lose her mind at any moment. Any time the memories came back or she saw the images in her mind – which _was_ beginning to happen less often – she felt as if it took every piece of willpower in her being to stop her from screaming her anguish out loud and throwing herself from the top floor of the mansion. So many times she had felt herself on the brink of going insane. So many times she had prayed desperately to a God she wasn't sure existed, begging Him to help her to stay in control and keep the shattered remains of her life together.

The images returned as she closed her eyes once more. _No. I want to forget_! Marina pressed her knuckles against her closed eyes as if she could push the images away. _I don't want to see this every time I close my eyes_! She opened her eyes. It was impossible for her to put her mind to rest. She forced herself to think about something else. The rock was beginning to dig into her bare legs. Marina stood and dipped her toes into the water. She was barefoot, her shoes and socks left inside the house, and she found herself smiling as the water rippled gently around her feet. Sometimes she was tempted to forget this life, to leave everything behind, to walk into the ocean and live the rest of her life underwater. Under the water there would be no suffering, no fear, no death, not in an environment where she was the supreme being. She could leave behind the tortured persona of Marina and simply carry on as Aqua. Sometimes she wondered why she hadn't done so already. But she knew she couldn't simply walk away from Gary. They loved each other and neither wanted to be apart. She couldn't ask Gary to live underwater with her. It wouldn't be much of a life for him, constantly wearing breathing equipment or relying on her to provide him with oxygen, having to worry about sharks and rays and nitrogen narcosis and other aquatic hazards that Marina didn't need to pay any heed to. No, the only possible solution was to stay together on the surface. Maybe in time she would start to live something resembling a normal life.

-

-

-

As she watched the Praetorius family's reunion, Cassandra was unsure of her feelings. While she was happy to see her friend meeting his parents again after a long time apart, she couldn't shake the envy that stabbed at her. Helios had been orphaned, just as she had, but he had found a new family who hadn't hated him for being a mutant. Cassandra hadn't been so lucky. If Pyro hadn't adopted her, she'd probably still be living at the orphanage, tormented daily by the human children, believing the things they told her, convinced that she was lower than dirt. Some people had all the luck. Some people, like herself, didn't seem to have any. To be born a mutant, with what she saw as a fairly useless mutation, and then to be denied the breaks that other people seemed to get so easily. Still, it could be worse, considering what had happened to Gemini…

"This is my friend Cassandra," Helios' voice broke into her thoughts. "From school."

Dominic's parents smiled at the girl. She was very pretty and it was obvious to them that their son had his eye on her. Still not entirely comfortable around humans, Cassandra simply nodded in reply.

"I'll take your bags to the car," said Helios' father.

"So is this your first time in Britain?" his mother asked Cassandra.

"Uh, no. I visited Edinburgh once."

Mentioning the nature of the visit probably wouldn't have been a very good idea. Cassandra was trying to forget the past. So many crazy things had happened before the X-Men and the Brotherhood had become allies. Fortunately Mrs Praetorius didn't try to pursue the matter any further. Helios was saying something to her, and his tone was uneasy.

"Listen, Mum, there's something you should know. I don't know if the adoption agency ever told you, but I've got a twin brother."

"You've got _what_?"

Cassandra drifted away, intrigued by the sights and sounds of the airport. She didn't want to listen to a conversation about Recyclo. The psychopath still haunted her dreams sometimes; she would never forget the haunting look of insanity on his face the last time she had ever seen him, just after he had set a bomb to wipe them out. What torments must have been inflicted on his young mind to warp and twist him into what he had become? She would never know. A person's mind was truly a wonderful and a terrible thing. Used to its full potential, a mind could give birth to true genius. Cassandra had never met Magneto but she wished she could have, to see if he really was the visionary and the inspiration that Gemini and Pyro spoke so highly of. On the other hand, if a mind was misused it could be a frightening and destructive force. Recyclo's betrayal had almost spelt doom for the whole world.

Minds were like children in a way, she decided. Raise a child with kindness and its life would be filled with love and happiness, and it would grow up a confident and creative individual. Raise a child with injustice and cruelty, and it would know no other way to live. Cassandra wanted children. She desperately wanted to raise her own offspring and try to care for them the way she would have wanted her parents to care for her. She'd wanted to start a family with Gladiator. He'd promised to marry her and be the father of her babies. He'd lied. He'd broken that promise. Sometimes she just wanted to –

"Cassandra? This way!"

She'd wandered away from them, and she hurried after Helios and his mother as they headed for the exit.

-

The afternoon was cool with a light breeze as they emerged out into the London air. Helios smiled, glad to be back in a familiar and comfortable climate. Cassandra shivered and was glad she'd taken the precaution of wearing a sweatshirt and jeans instead of her usual T-shirt and skirt. She'd have been freezing wearing those.

"The car's over here," said Helios' mother.

Helios fell into step beside Cassandra, and his hand brushed against hers, she guessed none too accidentally. She was about to give him a look to remind him that 'no romance' was her condition for accompanying him, but he pre-empted her, "Did you hear what happened to Vertigo and Gemini?"

"Yeah. They stopped a terrorist attack."

"Pretty brave, eh? I heard Pyro nearly lost it when he thought Gemini got hurt."

But Cassandra wasn't listening. At the sound of her own words 'terrorist attack' she had begun to grow uneasy. Something was wrong. What was it? Was she feeling uncomfortable in an unfamiliar climate in a new country? Was she beginning to think maybe this hadn't been such a good idea after all? No…there was definitely something else. Something she had just sensed…her power was still developing and recently it had begun to give her a vague feeling of unease before giving an explicit warning that something bad was going to happen. Was that the case now?

"Listen," she said to Helios. "I'm…I'm feeling all weird. I think I'm about to have a fore-flash."

"That means something dangerous is about to happen – yeah?"

"Yeah…but I don't know what…"

"Maybe a plane's going to crash."

Both of them glanced up into the sky. There were no aircraft overhead at that moment.

"Shouldn't we warn people?" he asked.

"About what? We can't just go around telling people something bad is about to happen. They'd think we're nuts."

The two of them had stopped walking, and Helios' mother was turning round to call, "What's wrong, you two?"

Cassandra was concentrating on trying to pin down the source of her unease, so Dominic explained quickly, "Cassandra can see the future; something's about to happen!"

Suddenly Cassandra grabbed his arm, "Quickly! This way! We've got to stop them!"

Without waiting for a response she turned and started running back the way they had come, into the airport terminal.

"Where are you going?" Dominic's father exclaimed. "Hey! Dominic! Cassandra!"

His son had already begun hurrying after the girl, and Praetorius sighed. Teenagers. She had probably left something behind.

"Cassandra!" Dominic cried as he caught up with her inside. "Where are we going?"

"I don't know!" she said helplessly. "All I know is somebody's about to set off a bomb inside the terminal! I saw the image in my head! But I don't know where it is!"

At that moment, two distinct sounds cut through the relative quiet of the airport terminal. The first was the sound of gunfire: the rapid guttural bark of an automatic weapon, and the second was the shrieking and blaring of alarms going off to the left, to the right, overhead, and just about every other conceivable direction. Two seconds later, these noises were joined by the inevitable sound of terrified screaming as people realised what was going on.

"What's going on? Is it terrorists?" Helios yelled over the cacophony.

It was the logical conclusion, but Cassandra didn't stop to answer him. She was already hurrying in the direction she could hear the gunfire coming from. Part of her still couldn't believe this was happening. It had to be a dream, or a joke. The coincidence was just too much. Gemini had just played her part in fighting off a terrorist attack back home – how could the same thing be happening to Cassandra barely a day later? She put it out of her mind. It didn't matter how unlikely it was, if it was already happening.

She had pushed her way through the worst of the crowd and the terminal was now virtually empty as everyone streamed for the exits. The sounds of gunfire grew closer, and she began to move more cautiously. She hadn't heard the sound of anyone being hit or crying out in pain, but she wasn't going to take any chances. Her foresight would give her early warning if she was in danger of being shot, but still she didn't want to go charging in. She had no idea what the response to this incident might be; a security team would doubtlessly be called in, but almost certainly too late to prevent the bomb going off. Cassandra had no idea just how much time she had left before her premonition came to pass, and that thought spurred her on.

She had to be close now. The gunfire sounded as if it was coming from just around the corner. Hugging the wall tightly, she could make out voices too:

"Shut up! _Shut up_ and stay still!"

She couldn't place the accent – Scottish? Welsh? Irish? It wasn't English. The Edinburgh-born Crusader would have known. Cassandra risked a glance around the corner. Her heart sank. The situation was even worse than she had previously anticipated. In that quick glimpse before ducking her head back around the corner, she had seen there were three or four men, two with automatic weapons, two working on setting up the bomb she had foreseen. What was worse, however, was the pre-teenage girl who was kneeling on the floor in front of the gunmen, clearly a hostage. The gunfire had ceased temporarily, and all Cassandra could hear was the sound of the girl whimpering and sobbing in fear.

"Hurry it up, Sean!" she heard one of the terrorists snap.

The bomb had to be near completion, which meant it might be set off any minute now. Cassandra had no time to think of a grandiose master-plan; she just had to do whatever she could. A hand on her shoulder told her Helios was beside her.

"Terrorists," she whispered to him. "They've got a bomb. And a hostage."

He considered it, then said, "I'll draw their fire and blind them. You get the hostage to safety."

"What about the bomb?"

"Can you disarm it?"

"Given enough time, yeah. I doubt I'll get more than a split second though."

"How much time until they set it off?"

"I don't know!"

Caught in indecision for a moment, both mutants thought furiously. There had to be a way of doing this that didn't involve sacrificing either themselves or the hostage. Helios whispered into her ear, "OK, you try and disarm the bomb. That's the most important thing."

"What about the hostage?"

"If it goes off she's gonna die anyway, ain't she? I'll worry about her. Get ready to go."

"OK…"

Pulling off his gloves and dropping them on the floor, Helios stepped around the corner. He saw two men busily working with the explosive, while the other two stood over the hostage, their weapons held at waist height. Neither of them was looking in his direction.

"Hey," he said to the terrorists.

Immediately all four of them looked up in surprise. The two with guns aimed them towards him, but Dominic was already holding out his hand, shining blazing light into their eyes. They looked away, temporarily blinded, and Cassandra hurried past him, towards the bomb. Knowing that it would be a few seconds before the terrorists regained their sight, Dominic ran forward to grab the hostage, pushing her in the direction of safety. He grabbed the automatic weapon from the terrorist nearest him, and flung it aside. The second gunman seemed to have recovered at least some of his sight, and he lashed out at the vague shape of Dominic in front of him. The young mutant avoided the clumsy blow and grabbed at the man's rifle. The two of them struggled with it for a second, then Dominic's hand snagged on something on the man's shirt, ripping it free, pulling the weapon out of the terrorist's hands as he did so.

Cassandra worked quickly, disconnecting as many of the bomb's components as she could, slipping into her pocket one or two vital parts that she recognised. The two terrorists who'd been working on the explosive device were still rubbing their eyes painfully, moaning and waiting for their eyesight to return. Suddenly, without warning, another image popped into her head.

"Helios! Look out!" she yelled.

From around the corner came six men in dark grey attire, weapons at the ready. This had to be the airport's security team.

"_Freeze_!!" their leader demanded.

Helios held up his hand again, and blinding light shone into the eyes of the men. He had no desire to be caught by the security forces. He knew they would not believe him if he told them the truth, that he and Cassandra had been trying to stop the terrorists. Mutants together with terrorists would only lead the authorities to one conclusion. As the security force stumbled, clutching at their eyes, Helios grabbed Cassandra and pulled her away from the scene. The hostage was nowhere to be seen, and he assumed she too had run. Helios and Cassandra ran as fast as they could to the exit. They could leave the security team to finish disarming the bomb. Their work here was done. It wasn't until they got outside that Dominic realised he was still holding on to the object he'd inadvertently torn from the terrorist's shirt.

-

-

-

Almost everybody who knew her assumed, incorrectly, that Acceleratus' mutation controlled her speed of movement. In actual fact her mutation had nothing to do with her speed. Instead it governed her acceleration. While normal humans could accelerate for a brief period until reaching top speed, Acceleratus had no such limit. She could accelerate as long as she had the energy to keep going. It was Pyro who had suggested the name Acceleratus to the little seven year old who was too young to understand the difference between speed and acceleration. While most people called her Accel for short, she was used to being given her full name by the adults, even if she didn't really know what it meant.

"Come on, you promised," she was pleading, holding Vertigo's hand and pulling in the direction she wanted to go.

"It's getting late, honey…"

"But you _promised_!"

"What did he promise, Accel?" asked Gemini.

"He said he'd practice my self defence with me this evening! Come on, Vertie!"

Eventually he gave into the child's persistence and allowed himself to be dragged off towards the gym. Gemini followed, mainly out of curiosity to see how the little girl was progressing. Accel's ability to move at speed had always been impressive, but now that she was being properly taught and trained how to make full use of her power, she could run at speeds that were simply breathtaking. Pyro had theorised that one day she might even be capable of accelerating faster than the speed of light, assuming she didn't tire and stop short in the process.

The gym was empty, and Gemini watched as Vertigo and Accel moved on to one of the soft padded floor areas that was used for self defence training. She saw the determination clear on the little girl's face, as she assumed a defensive posture and waited for Vertigo to make the first move. Gemini knew Vertigo would always begin things slow and steady to make sure Accel was prepared, to make sure he didn't hurt her. It wasn't easy training a child this young to use martial arts, and some of the adults frowned on it, but Accel was determined to learn one way or another. The child easily dodged Vertigo's first few attacks: easy, gentle ones just to get them into the rhythm. Then he began attacking faster and sharper, with swift cutting blows that would have knocked Accel to the ground if she hadn't avoided them.

"Good, very good," said Vertigo appreciatively. "Remember, always look for the opportunity to counter attack!"

She did so slightly sooner than he was expecting. The child swerved easily away from his next attack, and drove at the back of his legs, using his momentum to throw him forward. Vertigo was caught by surprise and managed to hit the ground in a roll, back on his feet in an instant. He was wary now, remembering just how quickly she picked things up, and he was more conservative with the next few attacks. Then, when he felt Acceleratus was tiring and off balance, Vertigo struck like a snake, his hand whipping out to strike between her shoulder blades. Moving so fast she was virtually a blur, the girl twisted away, and again used his momentum to throw him to the ground. Before Vertigo could react, she was on top of him, pinning his arms to the ground as he had taught her. For a moment he was stunned. She was so fast it was incredible. The little girl giggled, "I beat you! First one to pin wins, remember!"

Gemini was laughing too, and for a moment Vertigo felt angry. The girl hadn't beaten him – he'd deliberately been going easy on her! With his superior strength he knew he could fling her to the ground now and knock her unconscious with a single blow. He didn't want his new girlfriend to think that he had been defeated by a tiny child. For a moment he was ready to lash out at Acceleratus, but then he stopped, and got himself under control. He knew his feelings for Gemini were doing crazy things to him, but he couldn't let it dictate the way he acted. He sat up, the little girl sliding down on to his knee, and he smiled at her.

"You're good, honey," he said, stroking her hair. "You're doing everything the way I taught you to."

She smiled back innocently. Vertigo forced himself to be pleased that the child was responding well to his teaching and developing her skills. Accel was learning things that might one day save her life. At the same time though, he knew he'd never live this down. He was arguably the best martial arts fighter at the school, challenged only by Shapeshifter and Nightcrawler, and he had just been floored by one of the smallest kids here. Ah well, that was life. The master always had to be prepared to be excelled by the pupil. Acceleratus stood and helped him to his feet, closing her eyes and hugging him contentedly. Vertigo smiled. He knew he loved the little girl. He'd helped raise her and look after her when she had first arrived on the island, as they all had, and in a way she was like a little sister to all of them.

Gemini knelt down and prised Accel away from him, saying, "OK, honey, I think it's time you were going to bed now…"

She lifted the sleepy child into her arms, then faced Vertigo and sighed, "I just remembered. Crusader's away with Aqua, and Cassie's gone too. There's going to be nobody else in my room tonight. I _hate_ being alone at night."

"Well, Helios and Gladiator are gone too. You could come sleep in our room," he offered.

"Yeah, right. And have Atlas looking up my nightdress when I'm fast asleep? No thanks."

"Well, I could come sleep in _your_ room."

"Uh, no. I don't think my dad would allow that. I'll see you in the morning."

"OK. 'Night, Accel."

But the little girl was already asleep. Gemini carried her out through the door, and Vertigo idly moved over to one of the exercise machines in the corner of the gym. Maybe he could work off some of his restlessness this way.

-

-

-

Annie wiped sweat from her brow as she finally managed to work the package free. The bricks had fought hard to keep hold of their prize, but Annie's persistence had paid off as she eventually found the one weak brick that moved out easily, allowing her to pull the others out of place. The weak brick was probably the one that had been pulled out to hide the package in the wall in the first place. Now the package lay in her hands, and she looked for a way to pull it open. The outer protective foam layer was tough and resistant, and she could see no immediately obvious way to get it off. Annie was intrigued. Whatever this was, somebody had gone to a lot of trouble to hide it. She could only assume it was what the house had been searched for, and the reason why Marina's family had been killed, to prevent this from falling into the wrong hands. The reason why Marina's life was still in danger.

Annie projected her sight through the wall and looked down to the beach, to check on her friend. Marina sat on a rock beside the water, with Gary beside her. His arm was around her shoulders and hers around his waist. Annie brought her attention back to the package. There had to be some way to get it open. She could try looking through the wrappings to see what was inside, but her X-ray vision tended to be unsuitable for detailed study like this. Annie gripped the package at both ends and tried to pull the foam casing apart. It held firm, and she gritted her teeth, tensing her muscles and using the Herculean body strength she'd inherited from her brother. She felt something give, then the packaging was torn in two, and the contents fell out, dropping towards the floor. Annie's telekinetic power caught them just before they hit the ground. She didn't know whether or not they were breakable, but she didn't want to take the risk. She knelt down to examine the object now held in place by her mind.

It was an envelope, brown paper, A4 sized but folded up to fit inside the package. Unfolding the envelope, she tipped the contents into her lap. Now she saw what she had been half-expecting: a DVD-ROM in a clear plastic sleeve. Annie turned it over, but there were no markings on either side to indicate what might be on it. Annie projected her mind outwards until she could sense her brother.

_Gary__, bring Marina up to the house. I've found something_.

Annie waited until she heard them entering the house, then she stood and went to meet them.

"Marina, is there a DVD player in the house?" she asked.

Holding Gary's hand, Marina nodded, "In the – in the front room."

"Is that what was in the package?" Gary asked, pointing the to the disk in Annie's hand.

"Yes. Whatever's on it must be the reason why all this has happened."

"What are you talking about?" said Marina.

"We found this buried inside the wall. It must have been hidden there. It must be what these people were searching for."

The three of them walked through to the front room, where Marina opened one of the cupboards to pull out a DVD player.

"We always put it in the cupboard to hide it from sight when we go away," she explained. "I mean we – we used to…"

She connected the player to the TV and Annie inserted the disk. Gary glanced out of the window, half out of curiosity, half to make certain no attackers were in sight. They couldn't predict when Marina might be attacked again. They just had to stay alert and protect her if and when something did happen. It was unfortunate that Cassandra was not here to warn them of any impending danger. Then again, Gary couldn't be sure that Cassie would particularly care about protecting Marina. The girls sat down in front of the TV to watch whatever was on the disk, and Gary settled down beside Marina.

For the first few moments there was nothing, and Annie was beginning to wonder if the disk was blank or had been corrupted, but then an image came on to the screen.

"Mom? Dad?" Marina gasped.

Annie recognised the middle-aged man and woman on screen from the family photograph Marina had been holding earlier.

"Marina honey," the woman smiled. "We made this recording for you in the event that anything ever happened to us. We hid it inside the house in the hope that you would find it. We hope you never have to see this."

"Mom…" Marina sobbed, reaching out towards the screen as if she could touch her mother.

Her father took over, "We're taking the boat out tonight to try and flee the country. It isn't safe for us to stay here. If all goes well we'll be safe in Canada and you'll never have to see this recording."

Marina buried her head in Annie's shoulder as a fresh burst of tears came. Gary thought: _so they weren't just on a pleasure cruise when their boat was attacked. They were running for their lives_!

"It isn't safe for us to stay in the US," Marina's mother was saying. "Your brother has discovered evidence of corruption high up in the US Navy. We don't know how deep it runs, but almost certainly into the government. He's had two attempts on his life already to keep him from revealing the truth. We have no choice but to leave the country."

Her father said, "If anything happens to us, and you think you're in danger, there's a person we want you to contact. Her name's Felicity Arkwright. You've never met her, but she's a friend of the family."

"Shock…" said Annie.

"We never told you this, Marina honey, but…" her mother hesitated. "…well, there isn't an easy way to say this: you're a mutant. I know this isn't going to be easy for you, but they told us when you were born. We were going to tell you when you were a little older. Don't worry, we've always loved you, honey. Miss Arkwright works at a school for mutants. If anything happens to us, she'll try to find you. They can protect you at the school."

"All the evidence your brother collated is encrypted on this disk," her father said. "Pass it on to Miss Arkwright and she can – "

Suddenly Gary said, "Can you smell something?"

Annie sniffed the air, then her eyes widened, "Fire!"

"What?" said Marina, still intent on the image of her parents.

"The house is on fire!"

The Rosiçkys leapt to their feet, looking around for the source of the fire. Had they left something switched on in the kitchen?

"Gary, look out!" Annie screamed.

The front room windows shattered into millions of tiny shards of glass as bullets began to rip into the interior of the house. Gary tackled Annie to the floor, the bullets zipping overhead. Marina, still seated, was not in danger.

"We're under attack!" Gary cried.

"The disk! Get the disk!" Annie yelled at Marina.

Keeping low, Marina crawled over, pulled the disk from inside the DVD player and clutched it tightly.

"When I tell you, run for the exit!" Annie told them, and the fourteen year-olds nodded.

She projected her vision through the wall to see what was happening outside. A group of men, five or more, wearing black and holding automatic rifles, were crouch-running towards the house. Annie suddenly realised they hadn't heard the sound of any gunfire; the weapons had to be equipped with silencers. The smell of the fire was getting stronger, and smoke was beginning to creep under the door. They had to get out _now_. Annie stood and faced the window.

"Run! Now!" she told them.

Gary and Marina ran for the door as Annie leapt out of the window to deal with the attackers.

"Drop her!" one of the approaching men yelled.

Annie's hand rose and the incoming bullets stopped in mid-air before her. At the same time she jerked her other hand, pulling the weapons out of the men's hands, throwing them aside. The men reacted in shock; some of them ran to get their weapons back, some of them stood still and tried to make sense of what had just happened, while others seized grenades from their belts. A glance behind her told Annie that the building was now in flames, and she hurried away from the inferno. One of the assassins challenged her with a knife, and Annie flipped over in mid-air to kick it away from him. Two men threw grenades at her, but her mind power held the explosives in mid-air where they went off harmlessly. She sensed Gary and Marina running down towards the beach, and began to head that way herself. Annie could have killed the attackers quite easily, but killing was not her preferred course of action. Besides, she was more worried about keeping Marina safe. A telekinetic blast knocked the men off their feet and sent them sprawling, then Annie was hurrying after her brother and his girlfriend.

Gary had taken a bullet in the shoulder but his immunity to pain had stopped him from being slowed down. Marina was wrapping a scrap of something around his arm to stop the bleeding. It was quite unnecessary, as Gary could heal himself using Annie's power, but Marina was only doing what her instinct told her to do for the man she loved. Annie looked back to where she had left the assassins flat on their backs, but nobody was following close behind her. Maybe the men were more concerned with destroying the house and what they had failed to find inside it. The disk was still clutched in Marina's small hand. Annie hoped it held the answers to what was going on and why people wanted to kill her friend. The recording had said something about corruption in the Navy and possibly the government…was that who had sent these people to kill Marina?

The roar of an aircraft engine directly overhead made all three of the teenage mutants run for cover.

"Shit, they've brought in air support!" Gary yelled.

Then Annie looked up, "No, they haven't! It's our jet! Shapeshifter said he was coming to pick up Marina, remember?"

The assassins were on them again, surrounding their hiding position, back in possession of their weapons and moving a lot more carefully now. The jet was circling around to land further up the beach.

"Stay quiet and make a break for it once Chris lands," Annie hissed.

"Fuck that," Gary snapped angrily, rising to his feet.

She tried to pull him back, but he camouflaged himself and was gone. Marina was still holding the disk and Annie was afraid it might get broken.

"Put that in your pocket," she said.

"My skirt doesn't have any…"

"Give it here then!"

The foremost of the assassins smirked as he approached. The two girls were huddled together in the scant cover provided by a small cave at the back of the beach. It was a shame to kill them, he thought. They were both pretty. A bit young, perhaps, but younger ones were often better in the sack.

"Sir, why don't we take them on their backs somewhere before we kill them?" he spoke into his comm. unit.

"They're children, you fucking rapist, just kill them," came the angry response.

An invisible fist slammed into the man's throat before he could go any further, throwing him on to his back. Gagging, he clutched desperately at his neck. Gary stamped on his kneecap, breaking it, ignoring the man's screams, then went for the others. They were already backing away, bewildered by what they had just seen, fearing whatever invisible enemy might be stalking them now. Their leader was the first to react sensibly, pulling his infra-red night vision goggles out of his pack. Gary kicked him in the chest before he could put them on, and punched another man so hard he went flying into the water.

The jet had now landed, and Annie and Marina were running towards the lowering ramp. Still caught up in his anger, Gary wanted to finish off the attackers first. There were only two left now. He punched one unconscious. The last man aimed his gun at the fleeing girls, peppering them with bullets. Annie pushed Marina to the sand and covered her with her own body. Gary felt his fury rise, his invisibility drop, and he breathed a huge jet of flame towards the rapidly retreating gunman.

"No!" Marina screamed.

Her hands were out, and a jet of water shot from the ocean to intercept the flames before the man's head could be burned to a cinder.

"Don't _kill_ people!" she yelled at Gary.

The man turned his weapon on Gary, but the boy ripped it out of his hands with impossible speed and bent the rifle in half. The man gaped, and did the only sensible thing. He fled. Gary considered going after him, but Marina was beckoning him towards the jet, and he hurried after the girls.

The landing ramp closed just as he reached the top, and the jet rose into the air. Storm was flying, and Shapeshifter hurried into the back to take Marina in his arms.

"I – I'm OK," she told him.

"Annie, what's going on down there?" Storm asked.

Annie said nothing, but Storm's eyes began to widen with comprehension. Gary assumed his sister was telepathing to her. It was the easiest and quickest way to explain something.

"Why are people trying to kill my daughter?" Shapeshifter demanded, his eyes boring accusingly into Gary.

"I think this disk will tell us," Annie said, holding up the DVD ROM.


	8. Chapter Seven: Magneto's Legacy

"_Another_ terrorist attack?" said Wolverine. "I don't believe this!"

"Believe what?" said Rogue, who was passing.

"It was on the news. Terrorists tried to set off a bomb at Heathrow Airport in England."

Her eyes widened, "What happened? Were they caught? Who were they?"

"Seems they were part of a radical faction of the IRA," said Oculus. "Irish terrorists."

"Yeah, I know who they are. What happened?"

Cyclops answered, "Security forces got to them in time, but it seems mutants were involved."

"Mutants? Who?"

"I dunno. Hey, wait a minute – isn't that where Dominic is right now?"

"I think so."

"Maybe they can tell us more about it."

Oculus frowned, "Do you think there's a connection between this and yesterday's attack in New York?"

"I doubt it. The guys from yesterday were Middle Eastern. Do they normally associate with the IRA?"

"Not that I know of, but two terrorist attacks in two days? There's got to be a connection."

The others shrugged. At that moment the door opened and Iceman entered.

"Helios just called," he said. "That terror attack in England? He was there. He and that girl Cassandra. They helped stop the attack."

"They were _there_?" said Oculus. "That's _definitely_ too much coincidence. Two terror attacks in two days, and on each occasion we happen to have somebody there to stop a disaster from happening?"

"It _could_ just be coincidence," Cyclops countered. "I mean, one of the biggest shopping districts in New York, and the biggest airport in the UK. Prime targets for terrorists, wouldn't you agree?"

"Yes, but our people being there each time…"

Wolverine snorted, "Helios might be one of ours, but the others certainly aren't. You know what I think? Pyro's got his finger in this somewhere."

"No," said Rogue, shaking her head.

"Well, think about it. Like Oculus just said, two terror attacks, two days. And each time Pyro's people are there. He's in this up to his neck. I don't know what he's trying to accomplish, but he must be up to _some_thing."

"No way," Rogue said once more. "Logan, I know you don't trust him, but Pyro would never put Alexandra in danger. You saw how he reacted when he thought she was dead. He loves that kid more than anything."

"Yeah, right. What about all the times before when he put her in battle against us?"

"I think their relationship was different back then," she said. "Besides, Neil, you can read Pyro's mind. Does he have anything to do with this?"

Oculus raised his eyebrows slightly, "I don't think he does, no. But reading Pyro's mind isn't easy. He's obviously learned enough from Magneto to be able to mask his thoughts to some extent. It's possible he could hide something from me if he was trying hard enough."

Then he went on, "Listen, I'm convinced these two attacks are connected in some way. Maybe some terror groups are colluding together to maximise the impact of their actions. I think we should be prepared for more attacks like these."

Iceman broke in at that point, "Helios says he found something important too, a badge or something one of the terrorists was wearing. He's scanned some images and sent them to us. I haven't had a chance to take a look yet."

"Let's check them out," Cyclops said.

The small group followed Iceman to his office where he had downloaded the images on to his computer. He loaded them up on screen. The largest image showed a metallic badge, circular and about four inches in diameter, with words engraved into an otherwise dull grey background. The words read: **MUTANT FREEDOM**.

"Mutant freedom?" said Wolverine. "All right, what more proof do we need? This is _definitely_ Pyro's work."

"Does that mean the terrorists themselves are mutants?" Rogue wondered.

"I doubt it. We saw the ones in New York on the TV and they weren't using any powers," Cyclops answered.

Oculus looked at Wolverine suddenly. Logan was frowning as he took a closer look at the image.

"What's wrong?"

Wolverine didn't answer right away, "Are there any close-ups of this thing?"

Iceman nodded, and selected one of the other images. This one showed the badge at a higher zoom. Individual details in the engraving of the disc could be made out.

"What's on your mind, Logan?" asked Neil.

"I could be wrong, but…" Logan hesitated. "I'm almost certain that thing's made of adamantium."

"That's impossible. You can't engrave adamantium."

"Really? Why wasn't I ever told?" came the sarcastic response, then he became serious. "No, I'm not almost certain. I'm completely certain. That's adamantium."

"But you can't engrave into that. It's indestructible. This is impossible."

Cyclops stroked his chin thoughtfully, "Well, assuming Logan's correct," he went on, ignoring the look he got from Wolverine, "There must be an explanation. There are only two people we've ever known with the ability to manipulate this metal…"

"And they're both dead," Iceman finished for him.

Oculus looked at the computer screen once more, "This image would seem to suggest otherwise."

"Well, Stryker's definitely dead," Logan said. "There's no way he could have survived the – "

As memories of Jean came back, he couldn't finish the sentence. Scott looked away as he recalled the same memories, but refused to let his grief show on his face. So many years had passed since then, but the agony of his loss was just as heartbreaking and torturous as the first few moments when he had realised she was gone. He suspected the same was true for Logan, thought Scott refused to believe that anybody else could have been as close to Jean Grey as he himself had been. Through sheer force of will, he managed to keep his face blank and indifferent. His first rule as leader was never to let the others know when he was feeling down. If they felt he had lost his confidence, they would lose theirs too.

It was Neil who finally broke the silence. He'd never really known Jean and wasn't affected by the memories that ate at the others. He said, "The only other man who could have engraved this disc is Magneto. He's also no longer with us."

"Can we be sure of that?" said Scott. "We only have Pyro's word that he's gone."

"Don't even go there," Logan said sharply. "Don't even go thinking he's still around. I mean, he'd have to be what, ninety?"

"I don't think age would affect his ability to threaten us," Neil replied. "Regardless of his physical state, his mind would be as razor sharp as it ever was. He had a power over people; not a telepathic power like the Professor, but more of a gift of insight. He could always look directly into a person's heart and know exactly which levers to pull."

"You're talking as if you admired him," Logan said in disgust.

"Well, in a way I do – did. I think he tried to teach Pyro to do the same thing, to control people in the same way. My son would always listen more readily to Pyro than to anybody else. If Magneto is still around, then he's every bit as much of a danger as he ever was."

Rogue was looking at the images on screen once more. In a thoughtful tone of voice she said, "In a way this has Magneto written all over it. It's almost as if he's created these badges as a sort of calling card. Don't you think? As if it's a message to us, taunting us, saying 'I'm still out there'."

"Yeah, sounds like his idea of a joke," Logan agreed. "What are we going to do about him?"

"Well, we can't jump to conclusions," said Scott. "The first thing to do is talk to Pyro. If he can confirm beyond doubt that Magneto _is_ dead, then we have to look for another explanation."

"What about Mystique?" Bobby said suddenly.

"What about her? She couldn't have done this."

"What if she had a child by him? What if that's why she's disappeared? Magneto's child would inherit his powers of magnetism, wouldn't it?"

"With a certain probability," Neil replied.

"What if she disappeared for years to raise the child to take Magneto's place? What if she thinks it's now time?"

Nobody knew what to say to that. None of them wanted it to be true, but none of them could dismiss it.

"Before we start with any more theories, let's talk to Pyro," Scott decided.

He turned to head for the door, when he realised somebody else was already standing there. The others looked round at the same time to see Vertigo in the doorway, slouched against the doorframe.

"What are you doing here?" Logan demanded. "Eavesdropping?"

The boy shrugged indifferently, "I heard you talking about Pyro and wondered what you were saying. You're wrong about him, you know. You've always been wrong about him. He's got nothing to do with these terror attacks."

"How can you be sure?"

"Because he didn't even know that me and Gem were going into the city yesterday. I'll bet he didn't know Helios was going home today either. And anyway, if he was setting up these attacks, why would he send us out to _stop_ them from happening? You people aren't too bright, are you?"

Insulting five of the most powerful X-Men to their face wasn't a good idea, but Vertigo didn't care. He didn't even move as Wolverine tensed his muscles angrily, and he returned Cyclops' cold stare with a typical 'I'm a teenager, you can't make me care' expression.

"What can you tell us about Magneto's death?" Neil asked him.

"Nothing. It happened before I even met Pyro. Pyro isn't responsible for any of this," he said once more. "You guys really ought to be more imaginative. You can't just blame the Brotherhood every time something bad happens."

"So what's your explanation?" said Rogue. "Who else could have made these discs?"

"I don't know. All I do know is that I've seen them before."

At this, all five of the adults reacted with surprise and leaned forward slightly, suddenly intrigued.

"Where?"

"In New York when I was fighting the terrorists yesterday. I noticed one of them was a wearing a badge because the sun reflected off it and blinded me for a moment. I couldn't see exactly what it was at the time, but I recognise it from those pictures," he pointed at the computer, "That's from one of the terrorists in England, right?"

"Yes," Neil said. "So the two terror attacks _are_ linked. And whoever made these discs must be the one who's orchestrating them."

"But why would Magneto launch these attacks in the first place?" asked Bobby. "What does it accomplish?"

"It kills people. Isn't that reason enough for him?" Logan said.

Cyclops answered, "The papers seem to be making out that these attacks are the work of mutants. The authorities must have found the badges and made that conclusion. If these attacks succeed in rekindling hatred between humans and ourselves, then that would be Magneto's aim."

"Are you sure?" said Neil. "Since we stopped the Apocalypse, relations between us and the humans have been improving. Still nowhere near what we'd like, but it takes time. Surely Magneto would be happy to see peace given a chance if he thought it would succeed? I don't think he'd try to make things worse just for the sake of it."

"Who knows what he'd do," Logan said. "You sound like you want to be his lawyer."

Neil didn't react. Cyclops said, "All right, let's go find Pyro and ask him – "

"Ask me what?" came another voice from the doorway.

They looked to see Pyro standing beside his former student. Had Vertigo gone to fetch him or had he happened to be walking past? It probably didn't matter. At least he was here.

"Just the man we wanted to see," said Logan with heavy sarcasm, and Pyro gave him a smirk that said 'kiss my ass, loser'.

"So what's up?" asked the fire mutant.

"We want to ask you a few questions," Scott told him.

"They think you're behind the terrorist attacks," Vertigo told him lazily.

Pyro gave an exaggerated nod and said sarcastically, "Oh yeah, that was me, didn't I tell you? The Apocalypse, that wasn't really the Horsemen, that was me as well. Did I mention I'm also responsible for World Wars One and Two?"

"Shut up, John," said Rogue.

"Whatever. Anything else you'd like to pin on me while I'm here?"

"We're thinking more along the lines of your old boss," Bobby replied. "How did Magneto die?"

"He was old. It happens."

"So you were there? You saw him?"

Pyro shook his head, "No, I was on the mainland with Gemini. I think it was exactly a year after I rescued her from the laboratory, and we were celebrating it as a kind of anniversary. I took her to the zoo, and to the city, things I thought she'd like to see. Anyway, when we got back to the island Mystique told me what had happened. She'd already taken care of the burial, so I went to tell Gemini and stayed to help her get over it."

"You never saw him after that?"

"Funnily enough, no, given that he was dead."

"We don't think he is," said Scott.

"Oh, come on. What are you accusing me of now?"

"Get a grip, John, we're not accusing you of anything," Rogue sighed. "We think Magneto could have faked his death. We think _he_ might be behind the terror attacks."

"OK…does your theory extend to explaining why he'd pretend to be dead and disappear for four years?"

"Not yet, it doesn't," Scott said. "We wanted to talk to you, to see if you could confirm that he was definitely gone."

Pyro shrugged, "Well, I never saw any reason to believe he wasn't dead, but I guess he _could_ be alive. That hardly proves he's organising terrorists though, does it? Or are you just looking for an obvious target to pin the blame on? You can't make it stick on me, so you're going for the next name that pops into your head?"

"Take a look at these."

Sighing impatiently, Pyro stepped closer to the computer screen. Brushing lightly against Rogue, he noticed she didn't move a few inches away from him like the others did.

"What am I looking at?"

"These badges were worn by the terrorists both in New York yesterday and in London today. Logan's positive they're made of adamantium. They've been engraved, which should be impossible for anybody other than Magneto."

"Maybe he made them before he died. I really don't think he's alive, you guys."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't see why he'd pretend to be dead. And when you've known somebody is dead for four years, it doesn't make sense to suddenly decide they're not."

"So what you're saying is, you don't want him to be alive," Bobby guessed. "You're afraid of him coming back and you losing control of the Brotherhood."

Pyro said darkly, "What control? What control have I got left? My students don't look up to me as a leader any more. They're your students now."

"Not all of us," came Vertigo's voice.

"Don't get me wrong about Magneto," Pyro went on. "I'd like more than anything for him to be alive. He's the best thing that ever happened to any of us," ignoring the angry looks he got, he finished, "But like I said, I can't just accept it that easily. He's been gone for years, and I've had to try and keep things going in his absence. I can't suddenly think 'hey, maybe he's not dead'. What would you guys think if I told you Jean might still be alive?"

"All right, you've gone too far," Scott snapped, before Logan could react. "How about working with us for a change instead of being the little smart ass you've always been?"

"What more do you want? I've given you my honest opinion: I don't think he can be alive. If you think I'm wrong, ask Mystique."

"Who isn't dead, incidentally," said Neil.

"He's right, boss," said Vertigo. "I've met her."

Pyro looked surprised, "You have? Huh. Seems everyone wants me to think they're dead."

"Could it be they don't enjoy your company very much?" Logan said acidly.

"Don't worry, Logan, I wouldn't miss _you_ if you pretended to be dead. In fact, why stop at pretending?"

"Shut up, both of you," said Scott. "All right, it seems our next step is to find Mystique. If anyone can shed light on Magneto, it will be her. Finding her is the obvious problem."

"Well, don't ask me where to look," Pyro said. "She's obviously been avoiding me for years, and besides, you guys are the ones with all the answers, aren't you?"

"I can try using Cerebro," Neil suggested. "I haven't sensed her before when I've used it, but then I've never specifically looked for her before."

"You don't seem to have a lot of success with that thing, do you?"

"What can I say? It's designed for Xavier, not for me. I probably shouldn't use it at all, but somebody has to."

"Maybe we can persuade Mystique to contact us," Rogue said.

"How?"

"I dunno. It's just an idea. Maybe there's something we can offer her."

"Like what? Logan's hand in marriage?"

"Shut up, John," at least three of them said.

-

-

-

When they got back to the school, Annie and Marina took Gary and the disk straight to the girls' dorm. Annie set up their DVD player, then stood while the younger mutants sat on Marina's bed together, and they watched the recording a second time. Marina clutched Gary when she heard her parents' voices, and he held her gently.

"…all the evidence your brother collated is encrypted on this disk," came her father's voice eventually.

This was as far as they'd got last time before the attack had begun. Annie turned up the volume a little so they could hear the rest.

"Pass it on to Miss Arkwright and she can act on it. She has powerful friends. Maybe you'll even meet them yourself."

"We have to go now, Marina honey," her mother said, smiling, but it was a sad smile, from a woman who knew she might never see her daughter again, "We love you."

"We love you," her father echoed.

The recording ended. Marina stared at the blank screen for several moments, as if waiting for her parents to reappear, as if she couldn't believe they had gone. Then she reached for the DVD player remote control, and hit rewind.

" – now, Marina honey. We love you."

"We love you."

Again she stared at the blank screen, and again she hit rewind.

"We love you."

"We love you."

Rewind.

" – honey. We love you."

Rewind. Annie caught Gary's eye and nodded towards the door. Quietly the two of them got up and left, leaving Marina alone with the recording of her parents. She was so hypnotised by their voices that she didn't even notice her friends leave.

"We love you."

"We love you."

Rewind.

"We love you."

Her mother smiled, and Marina felt giddy with delight. She felt almost as if they were there in the room with her. Her heart aching, yearning for her parents, she hit rewind again.

"We have to go now, Marina honey. We love you."

"We love you."

"I love you too," she said, smiling back at them.

They weren't real. The numbing truth hit home as the image disappeared and the screen went black once more. Marina dropped the remote control, curled into an unhappy ball on her bed, and cried herself empty.

Meanwhile Shapeshifter was outside, demanding to see his daughter.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Chris," said Annie. "She's – well, she's in there with someone. Or at least she thinks she is."

"What's on that disk?"

"A message from her parents. And something her brother found out about the people who are trying to kill her. We don't think the boating accident _was_ an accident. We think it was done deliberately. We think that somebody was trying to silence Marina's family for fear of what they might tell."

"When can I take a look at the disk?"

"When Marina's finished with it, I suppose."

"You could make a copy and let her keep one," Gary suggested. "If you can get her to let go of it to let you _make_ a copy."

"Good idea," said Chris. "Listen, how is Marina taking this? How is she reacting to seeing her real parents, even if it's only a recording? It's not going to send her back into her trauma, is it?"

"I think she's strong enough to maintain her current level of recovery," Annie said. "I don't think it will set her back. It's something she was going to have to see at some point, anyway."

"I suppose so. When she's ready to talk, let me know, OK?"

"Will do."

When they went back into the room, the TV was blank and Marina was curled asleep on her bed, her mind clearly exhausted. Annie quietly removed the disk from the player and went to find Chris. Gary stayed with Marina, gently lifting her head on to his lap and stroking her hair, soothing the sleeping girl.

-

-

-

He was surprised to have woken up at all. He hadn't expected he would ever do so again, and certainly hadn't expected to find himself lying on a comfortable bed in a pleasantly warm room. Surprised, confused, and more than a little suspicious, Chronos opened his eyes and looked up at the ceiling. Strange. It wasn't the ceiling of the small bedroom in his foster parents' house. It was higher, and a different colour, almost metallic. Where was he? His last memory was of being attacked by the neds, and having his face forced under the water. Unable to breathe, he'd lost consciousness. The neds must have thought he was dead, and left him. Someone else must have found him. He must have been taken to hospital. Yes. That would explain the unfamiliar bed.

"Hey," came a soft and gentle voice from beside him.

Chronos angled his head to look to the right. There he saw the woman, smiling at him, her hand reaching out to gently brush a lock of his hair out of his eyes. Her touch was almost maternal, but she definitely wasn't his mother.

"How are you feeling?"

"OK…I think," he said slowly, uncertainly. "Are you the nurse?"

She smiled, "Not exactly."

Something was wrong. His suspicion flared once more. She had an American accent – which meant he wasn't in Glasgow any more – unless she was a foreign exchange nurse or something – and besides, he recognised her from somewhere. He'd seen her recently – very recently – where had it been? It had been just before the fight with the neds, hadn't it? Yes, he remembered now. This woman and two men. They'd been waiting for him…_oh shit, now I remember! She's a Suit!_

Reacting as fast as he could, he recoiled away from her, leaping from the bed and standing on the tiled floor, his eyes moving from side to side as he looked for a way of escape. There was only one door. The Suit was already approaching, and he calculated his chances of getting to the door before she could block him. Not good. She was too close.

"Ian, it's OK honey, just calm down."

"Get away from me, Suit!" he snapped.

The woman frowned, "I'm not Sue, I'm Felicity. I told you that. My friends call me Fliss."

A quick glance around the room told Chronos everything he needed to know. Some kind of clinic. Beds, drugs, medical equipment. Obviously this was part of some research facility run by the Suits. Of course. After the neds had almost drowned him, the Suits must have caught up with him. They must have started searching for him after he froze time and evaded them. What if the Suits had even employed the neds to beat him up? Could they be working together? Could there be some kind of anti-mutant conspiracy where the Suits got the common street youths to do their dirty work? It wasn't impossible.

"Ian, honey, listen to me," said the woman. "We're not going to hurt you. I promise. I know you're scared and you don't know what's going on, but you can trust us. You can trust me."

He had to escape from here _now_. The Suits had obviously been waiting for him to wake up, so they could drag him off and perform experiments on him. This Suit must have been watching him, ready to summon the others at a moment's notice. She was walking towards him across the clinic, and Chronos backed away. He could only guess what weapons the Suit might have concealed on her person. He'd heard rumours of all kinds of horrifying weapons that government agents carried with them. Backing away further, he felt the wall behind him. Nowhere to go now.

_How am I going to escape? Can I freeze time and run past her? Is my power ready? Am I strong enough? Yes, I can probably do it, but…I doubt if I'd have enough strength left to get past the rest of them. I have to get out of this room, and find somewhere to hide from the Suits while my power recovers. Once I feel strong enough, I'll stop time and just walk out of this place. It'll hurt afterwards, but I can find somewhere safe to sleep it off. I just have to get past this one Suit…_

Beside him was a metal trolley of some sort, holding various medical implements. He picked up a scalpel, trying to hide it behind his back where the Suit wouldn't notice.

"Ian, put the scalpel down. Just relax. Take it easy. We are _not_ going to hurt you. We've brought you here so you can be safe. This is a place where mutants can live together in safety. We're all mutants, just like you."

He raised the scalpel defensively, stopping her from getting any closer.

"Ian, please put that down. I know this is a lot for you to take in, but it's all true. You can be safe here."

_Shut up, Suit…_

He flung the scalpel. The woman ducked, but it had missed anyway. His co-ordination was thrown off by tiredness. He grabbed the metal trolley and shoved it towards her. It caught the surprised Suit in the knees, and knocked her to the floor. Chronos was already moving, running towards the door. Leaving the clinic, he looked both ways. The metallic walls, the sterilised, futuristic look – it confirmed his suspicions. This _had_ to be a research lab of some kind. This had to be one of the places he'd heard about, where Suits brought mutants like him. He glanced behind. The woman was getting to her feet, and he knew there was no time to lose. He hurried away from the Suit, looking for somewhere to hide. He had to get deeper into the building. There was nowhere to conceal himself here. The Suit would find him in seconds.

Ahead he saw an elevator. _Excellent, that will take me out of here. I just hope it doesn't have any kind of secure access…_

It didn't. The door slid open easily, and he hurried inside, slapping the button to take him up. Already he was starting to plan ahead. He had to get out of the facility, that was obvious. Evading the Suits was his first priority. Once that was done, he had to figure out where to go next. The first task would be to find out exactly where he was. Then he had to find a way to get out of the country. That would be easier said than done…he checked his pockets. Surprisingly, everything that had been there before was still there. Strange the Suits hadn't taken it. He had a few pounds and a stick of chewing gum. That wouldn't get him far, but it would have to be enough to get him started…it was obvious that he would have to use his time powers to achieve his goal of escaping from the Suits. He needed money to get abroad, to get away from them. Maybe he could freeze time and sneak into a bank vault, or something…

His thoughts were interrupted by the elevator stopping and the doors opening. He jumped out immediately, coming face to face with a group of very startled children. What the hell were these? Baby Suits? The youngsters had started giggling at the bewilderment on his face and his rather sudden appearance from inside the lift.

"Are you new here?" one of them said. "What's your name?"

"What's your power?" another asked curiously.

This had to be another trick, another trap. The Suits must have forced these children into this. This was obviously designed to make him stop while the female Suit caught up with him.

"Get out of the way!" he snapped, pushing the children aside.

"Hey, don't push! You're too rough!"

"Yeah, you're hurting me!"

He ignored their indignant protests, and ran as fast as he could down the corridor ahead. It seemed lighter that way. Maybe there was a door, or a window he could break to get outside. A couple of men – more Suits – were talking at the other end of the corridor, and they both looked up in surprise as he came racing down towards them. _OK, more Suits. I can't go that way._

He ducked into the nearest doorway, slamming the door closed behind him. Then he looked around to check the room he'd just run into. Maybe he could find a way out. Maybe he could hide here. Yes, maybe he could hole up here whilst the Suits expended their energy searching the rest of the lab for him.

No! Too late! One of the Suits was already in this room! It was the man he'd seen with the fireball, one of the original three who'd grabbed him from home! Chronos was ready to duck back out of the room and find another place to hide, when the man glanced up at him.

Pyro regarded the boy for a second. So he'd woken up at last. No doubt the X-Men would try to enrol him into their school, and fill his head with their fantasies about humans. Not that Pyro particularly cared any more. He only evaluated the boy as a potential threat to his daughter's safety, and doubted he would prove to be one. He looked back down at the book he was idly flicking through.

Chronos frowned. Of all the reactions he might have expected from the Suit, indifference wasn't one of them. He might have expected the agent to leap out of his chair and make a grab for him, or make a call to his fellow Suits so they could catch him. He might have expected him to pull out a weapon and attack him. But the man seemed totally uncaring that Chronos was on the run. That was strange, and it didn't fit in with anything Chronos had learned so far. He knew these people were Suits and he knew there had to be some kind of conspiracy going on. Or did he? Could he be mistaken?

"What is this place?" he asked the Suit.

The Suit didn't look up, "It's their school."

"What am I doing here? What do they want with me?"

"To educate you, I suppose," Pyro said disinterestedly.

"Really? Is that what it is? I thought – isn't this a government facility? Aren't you all Suits?"

"No, we're mutants. Didn't we tell you that?"

"Yeah, but I didn't believe you. Is this _really_ a school for mutants?"

"I have a vague recollection that's what we said."

Chronos was amazed. This was what he'd always dreamed of. To learn from other mutants, to be kept safe from neds and other humans who wanted to kill him…it seemed too good to be true. That was what had made him suspicious at first. Nothing ever existed exactly the way you wanted it to. Nothing ever worked out just as you had hoped. There would always be a catch, a flaw, something hidden under the surface that would only come to light when it was too late. Was this really what they said it was? Or was it a conspiracy, as he'd thought?

"So you're a teacher?" he asked the man who apparently wasn't a Suit. "What do you teach?"

"Bad habits."

He'd assumed this had to be a trap. He'd assumed that the Suits were preying upon his secret desires to finally meet some of his own kind. He'd assumed this had been set up to try and trick him, so they could experiment on him. But now that he thought about it, that couldn't be right. His secret desire was exactly that – secret – so how could the Suits know about it? And why would they bother continuing the deception if he was already in their grasp? Surely they would have had better security that would have stopped him getting this far. Why would they have allowed him to wake up and escape? Surely they would have kept him drugged and locked up somewhere. And why were there children here?

Should he give them the benefit of the doubt? Should he push his suspicions away and trust them? No, it was too risky! If it turned out he was right and they _were_ Suits, then there might never be another chance to escape! This might be the only opportunity he would ever have! But if he were wrong, and this really was the school they said it was – then running away could be a disaster as well. This could be the only chance he would ever have to do what he wanted with his life, and find an older mutant to be apprenticed to.

The door behind him opened, and he turned, tensed and ready to run from any Suits who entered. He was already backing away from the door and checking the windows for escape route potential. He was already preparing to use his time displacement power to freeze everything until he could get far enough away. As a result, he was more than slightly taken aback by the figure who walked into the room. She was about his age, with very long dark hair, and was without doubt the sexiest girl he had ever seen. She wore only a tight-fitting little nightdress, and his eyes followed the movement of her bare legs as she walked across the room towards the man.

"I'm going to bed now, Dad, I'll see you tomorrow," she smiled innocently, giving him a little kiss on the cheek.

"OK, honey."

As she turned to leave the room, the girl noticed Chronos. Realising he was unfamiliar, she glanced at him again, then lost interest and walked to the door. Every thought of Suits and conspiracies and mutants and schools had been pushed out of Chronos' mind. He was convinced he had just seen the most gorgeous girl who had ever walked on the face of the Earth. There weren't words to describe the feelings that had just arisen in his heart, and in other parts of his body as well. Could she possibly imagine the effect she was having on him? Did she realise the perfectness of the body God had given her? Did she have any idea how stunning she was in that little nightdress, that covered so little yet hid so much? He watched, mesmerised, hypnotised, as she left the room completely unaware of the explosions of passion that she had just detonated. He continued to stare as she walked down the corridor outside.

"Hey," said the man angrily.

Surprised, Chronos turned, "What?"

"You ever heard the saying, 'look but don't touch'?"

"Yeah."

"Well, in this case, don't even look," Pyro snapped. "In fact, don't even think. As far as you're concerned, she doesn't exist! All right?"

Startled by the sudden show of anger from the previously indifferent man, Chronos backed away a step, "Yeah, OK…no problem."

Pyro was furious. He'd seen the way the boy had been looking at his daughter, staring shamelessly at her body, mentally undressing her and dreaming about touching her. His paternal instincts were instantly aroused. No father liked seeing his daughter being eyed in this way, and he was determined that Gemini would have nothing to do with this boy – not if that was the boy's attitude towards her.

As for Chronos, well, he suddenly had all the reason he would ever need to stay here. If that girl was going to be around, then he was more than willing to take the risk that this could be a Suit base. He didn't know anything about her. He didn't even know her name. But he knew one thing: she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, and he wouldn't rest until she was his.

-

-

-

Scott lay awake in bed and surveyed the ceiling. Some nights he just couldn't get to sleep at all. Some nights were fine, but some nights the memories of Jean came back in full detail and would not leave him in peace. _Why did you do it, Jean_? Why did she have to die? Why couldn't she just have used her telekinetic power from inside the jet? Why had she had to struggle out, already injured, and sacrifice herself? A twinge of guilt tugged at his heart. Would she have made it back inside the jet if she hadn't been carrying the injury, the injury that he himself had caused her? The fact that he hadn't been in control of his actions was irrelevant. He should have tried harder to break free of Stryker's control. How could he have succumbed so easily, and allowed himself to hurt the one he loved most?

_I should have died, Jean. I should have died, not you. I gave in to Stryker. You never gave in to anyone. Jean, forgive me._ Scott knew she was gone and no part of her was left to hear him, but he let his feelings out anyway. How differently things might have turned out if she hadn't had to die. They would have married, he was certain. Would they have had children? _Stop it, Scott, don't even think about it_, he told himself. Thinking about what might have been would only make it more painful.

What might have been. What might he have done if he had known what she was going to do? Could he even have stopped her? Would she have let him? She had stopped Kurt from teleporting out to rescue her. She had fought against the Professor persuading her not to give her life. Scott doubted there was much he could have done to stop her, once her mind was made up. But that was what got him the most. Why had her mind been so made up; why had she been so utterly determined to commit the ultimate sacrifice? Why had she been so ready to die? Had she considered every possible alternative and decided there was no other way? Had she decided it wasn't worth the risk of trying to keep herself alive as well? Scott almost felt as if Jean had _wanted_ to die. Maybe that was crazy, but looking back that was the only conclusion he could draw. And he felt guilty again, because he had hurt her terribly while under Stryker's mind control drug. Had Jean decided, at that moment in the underground facility, that she wanted to end her life? Had she decided that it wasn't worth living if the man who loved her the most could hurt her so much? Scott didn't know. Maybe he was just being crazy. Guilt always came when a loved one died, but Scott wasn't sure if this was a natural symptom or if he genuinely did blame himself.

If only he could go back in time. If only he could go back as the person he was now, and do something to change what had happened. What would he do? How would he convince her to change her mind? How would he stop the towering flood wave from killing her? An idea occurred to him. Flood wave…water…Aqua. Of course. Marina could have stopped the flood wave with a simple flick of her wrist. _Well, that's very good, Summers, but she wasn't around back then, was she? And it's a bit late now, isn't it?_ Scott sighed. If only there was some way to accomplish it. If only there was some way to take Marina back there, get her to stop the flood, and save Jean's life. Yeah. If only. If only there was some way to travel through time. Scott sighed heavily, forced himself to stop thinking about Jean, and finally dropped off to sleep.

-

-

-

Outside the night was dark, but Gemini was awake. She could not sleep. The silence and stillness of the school was making her more and more uncomfortable. It was at times like this that her nightmares returned, not dreams of sleep but haunting memories too horrifying to fully recall. Memories of an eight year old girl kept in a tiny room with no light, no sound, nothing but hours of darkness and emptiness until she was dragged out to have more experiments done on her. Robbed of her freedom, her dignity, her future, even her status as a living, breathing, thinking creature. She remembered pain so intense and treatment so brutal that death was too good a punishment for those who had done it to her. None of it came back to her in detail, only in vague disjointed images and recalled feelings. At some point during the torment, her brain had effectively shut down and ceased its normal function. It wasn't until Pyro had found her and rescued her, that her mind began to work again, as if she had woken up after a long sleep, after a long and horrific nightmare.

She turned over in bed and tried to put her mind at rest. Those times were past now. There was no way that anybody could ever hurt her like that again. She had to forget the past. Brooding on it would do no good. The people who had hurt her were all dead, killed at Pyro and Recyclo's hands. The mother who had hated her so much to give her over to that hell was also dead. There was nothing left to link Gemini to her two years of living death. She had started a new life the moment Pyro had opened that door, and every day she poured out her love and her undying gratitude to him. Gemini knew she was at an age when most children began to move away from their parents and strike out on their own, but she didn't feel that way at all. She never wanted to be apart from her new father. She didn't care if other girls were different.

Unable to sleep, Gemini pushed aside her covers and stood. She felt restless. Maybe if she took a walk downstairs and watched TV for half an hour or so, it might help take her mind off her past. Padding across the room almost silently on her sock-clad feet, she pulled the door open and stepped into the corridor outside. The building was dark and dormant, with no sounds of movement from anywhere. She wondered what time it was. The corridor was lit only by the moonlight streaming through the window at the end, but it was enough to see by. The girl jumped in surprise at a sound from behind her, but when she turned there was nothing. Her heart still beating overly fast, Gemini forced herself to calm down. It was just one of those noises that buildings seem to make in the middle of the night. In the early days after her rescue, she'd hardly been able to sleep at night for a moment, convinced that every unexplained sound was Van Gaarde about to charge into the room and abduct her away. Any time she _had_ been able to sleep, she would wake again screaming within minutes, her dreams invaded by those terrible memories.

But those times were gone, and she was a lot better now. She could sleep without remembering Van Gaarde, and she could convince herself that unexplained noises were not going to harm her. Her breathing and her pulse eventually returning to normal, Gemini walked to the stairs and down to the ground floor. When she reached the door of the games room, she could hear sound from inside. Good, she would be glad of someone's company. It would help her to forget. She pushed open the door to see the TV on, the volume low, and a figure slouched in the sofa in front of it. A pair of candles flickered from their position on the table. Gemini smiled; she loved candlelight. Her smile widened when she saw it was Vertigo sitting on the sofa.

"Hey," she said softly, crossing the room towards him.

He looked over and grinned, "Hey. Can't sleep?"

Vertigo gestured towards the sofa cushion beside him, inviting her to sit down next to him. Unconcerned that she was only wearing her nightdress, and that her hair was in that just-out-of-bed condition, Gemini slid gracefully on to the sofa, smoothing her nightie down around her hips. After a few moments Vertigo tentatively slipped an arm around her shoulders and gently brought her body to rest against his own. On another day Gemini might have told him to quit it, but in her current mood she wanted company and she wanted to be close to somebody. She snuggled up next to him. On the TV screen some movie was playing, and she whispered, "What're you watching?"

"I think it's an old Jackie Chan movie."

"Trying to pick up some new moves?"

He grinned, "Something like that, yeah."

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Gemini wasn't interested in the movie, closing her eyes and resting her head on his shoulder. Vertigo playfully plucked at the shoulder strap of her nightie until she lightly slapped his hand away. She felt herself drifting off to sleep. At last her mind was at rest…

The movie switched to a commercial, and Vertigo took the opportunity to turn his attention fully to the girl sitting beside him. He couldn't believe just how beautiful she was. Every part of her petite figure was in perfect proportion, from her perfectly shaped shoulders down to her long, smooth, bare legs. It seemed incredible that somebody so small for her age could have such long legs; perhaps they just seemed that way relative to the rest of her body. Her small feet were hidden inside a pair of cute little ankle socks. Her long dark hair hung down almost to the small of her back. Her hands were small and delicate. Her eyes were pale blue and deep, like two oceans of endless dreams. Every inch of her body was perfect. There was so much life in this girl, so much desire to live out the future Pyro had made for her.

"Gemini," he said softly, and her eyes opened.

Sleepy, all she could manage was a smile up at him. Vertigo took a deep breath. He didn't know how she'd react, but this seemed as good a time as he would ever have. Leaning forward slightly, he kissed her – lightly, just once, just bringing their lips together for an instant. Afraid for a moment that she would be outraged, he was reassured when her smile widened, and her small pink tongue crept out to run over her lips, as if savouring the taste of love he had left there. Then she reached up and returned the favour, kissing him softly, then drawing away, a little nervous, waiting to see what his reaction would be.

This time both of them came together, her hand slipping around to the back of his neck, his hand slipping down to rest on her thigh, just short of the hem of her nightdress. Her skin was warm; it was almost as if he could feel her energy and life force pulsing inside her. Gemini's other hand came down to rest on top of his, letting him know that was as far as he was allowed to go. They kissed each other, lightly, tentatively, then as their confidence and passion grew, so did the intensity of the kiss. Neither of them had ever felt like this before, and neither of them was in full control of what was happening. They drew apart, and Gemini smiled at him coyly, her tongue flicking out provocatively. Was that an invitation to proceed? Vertigo took it as such, pulling her towards him and kissing her again.

Her hand slowly lifted off his, and he took that as yet another invitation to proceed. His hand crept slowly, exploratively, along her thigh and under her nightdress.

"What are you _doing_?" she gasped in shock. "You're, like, _touching_ me…"

She brought her legs together, squeezing his hand playfully, holding it in place. The feeling of warm, smooth, bare female skin was more than he could handle. He tickled, and her legs sprang apart as she squealed with delight. His freed hand continued its voyage of discovery. Then he discovered something he had not been expecting…

"You're not wearing any panties," came his startled voice.

She giggled at his surprise, "Well, of course I'm not. I'm supposed to be in _bed_."

Trying to recover his composure, he said, "You know, a less virtuous man than myself might take advantage of this situation…"

"I don't think I've ever met a less virtuous man than you…"

"Oh well, in _that _case…"

She blinked innocently, "What are you talking about? And could you please get your hand off my – um, you know – it's making me nervous…"

He pulled her towards him to kiss her, his other hand pulling at the straps of her nightie, easing them down over her shoulders.

"Hey…hey! What are you – stop it!"

She tried to pull them back into place. Before she knew what was happening she was on her back and he was lifting her head up to kiss her. She was nervous now in this position, uncertain she wanted to go this far. Instinctively she closed her legs, but Vertigo's hand gently prised them open again.

"Listen, I'm not too sure if I wanna – " she began breathlessly, eyes widening in shock at what he was trying to do.

"Hush…" he whispered, a finger on her lips.

"No, Vertigo – listen to me! I don't wanna do this – hey, _stop_ it – Vertigo, _get_ _off_ _me_!"

And then she felt it. The sudden intrusion between her legs aroused feelings she had never imagined possible, and for a moment she was gasping in elation, her eyes widening in awe, anticipation mixed with terror of what was coming next. But only for a moment. Then, without a warning, long-forgotten memories suddenly rose up into her mind…memories of being held down while she struggled, held immobile and unable to defend herself, while her legs were being forced apart…

Gemini threw back her head and screamed at the top of her lungs.

-

-

-

Pyro had been sitting in the garden, gazing up at the stars as he brooded on his troubled past and pondered what the X-Men had been saying about Magneto. Was it possible? Was it really possible that the old man could still be around? Well, it was certainly _possible_. But was it likely? Pyro couldn't see why Magneto would have done it. He'd been under the impression that Magneto, knowing full well that the years were catching up on him, had been training Pyro to take over from him as leader of the Brotherhood. Why would he do that if he was just going to fake his death and carry on the fight? Could it be he didn't trust Pyro? Did he see his pupil as a failure who would never live up to what Magneto expected? Had he decided he was wasting his time with Pyro and left to start over again?

Assuming he _was_ alive, what did that mean for Pyro now? Would Magneto reappear and expect his allegiance once more? What should he do if Magneto were to contact him? Would he go to join his old master, or stay here? He couldn't say. He knew he couldn't leave Gemini, and he knew she was happy here. Pyro was amazing even himself. For the first time in his life he was actually making his decisions based on what somebody else wanted, not just looking out for himself. If it came down to it, if Gemini wanted to stay here, then so would he, regardless of what Magneto said. His decision made, Pyro allowed himself to relax slightly. If Magneto wanted to kill humans, Pyro wasn't going to stand in his way, but equally he wasn't going to help him, not if it meant putting his daughter in danger. He didn't have to do anything, just stay here with Gemini.

And then he heard her scream.

-

-

-

Still on her back, Gemini was sobbing and trembling like a little girl, jerking away when Vertigo tried to put his hand on her shoulder. She fell off the sofa and on to the floor, curling reflexively into a ball.

"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked, but she only cried louder as she sat up and brought her legs up against her, hugging her arms around them.

The door burst open and Pyro stood before them. He took in the scene in an instant: Vertigo standing over Gemini; his daughter huddled and tearful on the floor, her nightdress half-off her shoulders, her panties missing, and the expression on her face unmistakable: the look of a girl who'd been violated.

"What have you _done_?!" Pyro demanded furiously.

"I didn't – I didn't do anything!" Vertigo insisted, raising his hands defensively as he rose to face Pyro.

Gemini's father pushed him aside as he knelt down to face his daughter, "Honey, what's wrong? What happened? Gemini?"

Tearful and ashamed, she couldn't look into his eyes. She tried to speak, her voice shaking, unable to express herself, eventually the words tumbling out, "Oh, Dad…V – V – V – he – he raped me…"

"_WHAT_?!" her father roared, rising to his feet and grabbing the boy around the throat.

"I didn't! I swear I didn't!"

Pyro was beyond reason now. He flung the boy to the floor and looked around for some source of fire. On the table nearby he saw a pair of candles alight, and he raised his hand, summoning a ball of flame towards him. Vertigo scrambled desperately to get away from the girl's enraged father, still pleading his innocence. The ball of fire hovered in the air above him, and Pyro prepared to launch it at the boy who'd raped his daughter. Suddenly Gemini was on her feet, her hands on his arm, stopping him from launching the fireball, pleading to him:

"Dad, don't hurt him! He didn't do anything!"

He looked at her and spat angrily, "You just _told_ me what he did!"

"No, no, it wasn't him! It was – it was V – V – Van Gaarde…"

Then she collapsed in his arms in tears, and he understood. He held her tightly.

"Pyro…" said Vertigo uncertainly.

"Go, Vertigo, just go," he said softly. "I'm sorry about – look, just go, OK?"

The boy nodded, and disappeared through the open door, glad to escape. Alone with his daughter, Pyro did what came instinctively. He cuddled her, rocking her back and forth, telling her he loved her and he'd never let anyone hurt her. Between sobs and gasps, she managed to tell him the story: how the researcher had come into the room, locked the door behind him, and violated her tiny, defenceless body. That was what had finally made her lose her mind and slip into what was effectively a waking coma. She had no idea how many times after that she'd been abused. Pyro guessed whatever had nearly happened just now between her and the boy had clearly resurrected memories she'd forced herself to forget. He'd always suspected the girl had terrible recollections that she'd never fully entrusted to him, but he'd never thought they were _this_ horrifying. This certainly explained why she had always been so paranoid of people looking up her skirt, or whatever. He could barely begin to imagine the horror she must have felt when it had happened again, and again, and again…

"You're OK now, honey," he whispered. "I'll never let anybody hurt you ever again. Van Gaarde's dead and he can't hurt you. Nobody can hurt you. You're going to be OK…"

Speaking softly and reassuringly, he managed to calm her down. Her trembling stopped, her body relaxed and her crying stopped. As her tears finally gave way to exhaustion, she slept in his arms. Gently lifting her, he carried her upstairs and back to bed. He sat and watched her sleeping form until he was sure she was resting peacefully, then he left, even more troubled than he had been before.

-

-

-

Twelve of them sat around the table, nine men and three women. The one who had convened the meeting rose from his seat. He was tall and stood with a confident, authoritative posture. His hair had greyed long ago, but there was barely a wrinkle or other mark on his skin, and his age was impossible to determine. He could have been anything from twenty-five to ninety-five. He spoke with the slightest trace of a European accent, though none could tell from which country.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for attending this little rendezvous."

His tone was normal, but they knew he was being sarcastic. As if they'd had any other choice but to come.

"I feel it's time we updated each other on our progress. Two?"

The man on his right cleared his throat, adjusted his glasses and said, "Everything is proceeding according to plan so far. The public are buying the idea that mutants are responsible for the terrorist attacks. In a few days we'll fabricate a story about some mutant terrorist group. The masses will eat it up."

"Good. I assume there are no funding issues, Three?"

They referred to each other by number, not by name. Most of them thought it was pretty stupid; they all knew who each of the others was anyway. The only real reason was to retain anonymity if their conversations were being recorded, but the chances of that were remote.

The man addressed as Three was shaking his head and saying, "No."

What Three wanted to say but kept to himself was, _this had bloody well better work. I'm not investing nearly a billion pounds a year for nothing_.

"Four?"

Four, a fat man who was puffing at a cigar, replied, "I'm having the new vessel fitted as per your instructions. As soon as I receive the material from Twelve, I can proceed to the next stage of construction."

"Five?"  
Rubbing the side of his nose, an unconscious habit he'd developed over the years, Five said, "So far everything is proceeding perfectly. Secrecy is going to be a problem, but I'm looking into it."

"Let Ten know if you have problems," One said. "Six?"

Six slouched in his chair and ran a hand through his greasy hair, "I'm still having problems with transmission corruption. I don't know how long it will take me to solve it"

One frowned, "But will they work? If the President refuses to co-operate and we're forced to activate the devices implanted inside his daughters, will they work?"

"Can't say. There's too many factors involved. If you want me to make an educated guess, I'd say probably not. But the President doesn't know that."

"True. I want that problem fixed though. Seven?"

The oldest of the three women fixed him with a cool stare, "No issues on my end. The Senate will follow whatever decision the President makes."

"Some good news at last," said One. "Eight, have you ironed out that little wrinkle yet?"

"Sent five of my best men down that way," came the response. "'m expecting them to report back any minute."

"That will be one less thorn in our side. Nine, I believe it is time to eliminate the targets we discussed earlier."

Calm and emotionless, Nine raised his eyebrows, "Go on."

"You know where to find them: their school in New York. You know how vital it is that they be silenced. That will remove another obstacle in the path that leads to our ultimate goal."

"I'm ready."

"Good. Ten?"

The youngest of the women gave him what she hoped was a winning smile, "Nothing to report, One. My talents don't come into play unless we're exposed, and I don't think that's going to happen."

Eight excused himself to answer a phone call, and One continued, "Eleven?"

"Yeah, man, everything's cool. I've been checking the waves and no-one's raised any flags."

There was a pause as the rest of them tried to decipher computer hacker speak. Eventually they came to the conclusion that he'd been monitoring Net traffic but there were no signs that anybody had detected any of what the Twelve were doing.

"Twelve?"

The third woman polished her glasses absent-mindedly on the sleeve of her coat, and said, "I'm happy to report the first samples of military grade constantium will be ready any day now. I'll be sending the first batch to Four, of course, and any left over can go to Eight."

"And the pure grade?"

"I'm afraid we simply can't manufacture it in large enough quantities for our needs. That's only a temporary problem, however. I need more time to perfect the experimental technique. In the meantime, the initial samples are on their way to Eight."

"Very well. And the mutant we delivered to you?"

"We'll begin studying it immediately. I'm amazed it's still alive, considering…"

"Indeed," said One. "All right, the next meeting of the UN security council takes place this week. The President will vote in favour of nuclear weapon retention, and we will set the last stage of our plans in motion. Any questions?"

Ten asked, "What happens if Britain doesn't vote our way? The US can't block the anti-nuclear proposal on its own."

One allowed himself a smirk, "The British Prime Minister is being taken care of. Soon he'll be in the same position as the President."

At that moment Eight re-entered the room and took his seat once again.

"I assume that was your men reporting back?" One prompted him. "Success, I take it?"

"Uh – not exactly," Eight said reluctantly.

The others around the table stiffened slightly. One smiled, but it was not a friendly smile, more like the smile of a shark about to devour its prey.

"Would you care to expand on that, Eight?"

"She's still alive…"

"I'm sorry, I don't think we all caught that."

"The Forrester girl is still alive!" Eight snapped. "God knows how. My men sounded as if they were shitting their shorts down there. They were talking all sorts of horse-shit like a girl stopping bullets in mid-air and them being attacked by invisible people."

"What does the Forrester girl know, exactly?" Seven interrupted.

"We don't know for sure," said One. "It could be nothing. Her brother – a navy officer – managed to unearth some evidence of Eight's involvement in our plans. He's dead, along with the rest of the family. Except one. This girl seems to have an uncanny knack for surviving death traps. As I said, she may not be able to harm us at all, but we can't take the risk. Nine, why don't you take this one on?"

The emotionless man said, "Before or after attacking the mutant school?"

"You yourself should concentrate on the school. Send some of your trusted men after the Forrester girl. I want that little whore dead, do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal."


	9. Chapter Eight: Third Terror Attack

Down below, the city was spread out like a patchwork quilt of urban, rural and industrial strips. It was as if it was being viewed from afar, though at the same time there was a strange feeling of being there, of standing in those streets, seeing the people, feeling the atmosphere, breathing the air. Along with that there was also a bizarre sense of déjà vu. This was oddly familiar. This had been seen before…but where was it? It was like a memory of a dream, a long-forgotten recollection floating around in the periphery of the mind. This had happened before…something terrible was about to happen…

Appearing as thin as a needle and black as jet, the nuclear missile stabbed down into the heart of the city. As the mushroom cloud enlarged and expanded, and the shockwave and blastwave shot out in lethal rings across the landscape, the feeling of horror and recognition grew stronger. This was not new…this had happened before…or had it? This was going to happen again unless something was done about it…yes, this was a warning of something to come…or was it?

Annie's eyes snapped open suddenly as she awoke. Breathing hard, she forced herself to calm down. _Just a dream_. _Just a dream_. But as her mind calmed and her thought processes approached something like logic, she realised it wasn't the first time she had had that dream. No – and that explained the weird sense of déjà vu she'd been feeling throughout. She _had_ seen it before. She was still having the nightmare. Was this going to stay with her forever? Was she ever going to stop reliving her fears?

She stood, pushing her covers aside. Across the room Gemini was still asleep, but she moaned and turned over in her sleep, her body tense, suggesting that something was troubling her. Annie frowned. She'd been vaguely aware of something going on downstairs last night, and she guessed it had involved her friend. It was obvious Gemini was still affected by her tormented past. Annie wanted to help her, but right now she was more concerned about Marina. She pushed out her senses, and found her best friend with Gary in the supposedly empty dormitory next door. Annie headed that way now. When she got there, she found her brother and his girlfriend together in one of the beds, furthest from the door. Both were awake, and both looked up as they heard the door opening. Marina's eyes widened and she gasped, quickly sliding out of the bed and hurrying across the room to sit on one of the chairs.

"We weren't – we weren't – " she began nervously, crossing her legs, her face going a little red.

Gary looked at his sister, "Did you – "

She knew what he was going to ask, and just nodded, "I had my nightmare."

"You just woke up from it," he said – a statement not a question – as he read her mind.

"Why do we keep having this same dream? Nobody else has it any more. It must mean something…but what?"

"I don't know – let's ask Dad."

_What are you talking about?_ Marina wanted to ask, but she couldn't find the confidence. She rarely felt comfortable breaking into a conversation that she wasn't part of. She was still afraid that Annie would be angry at finding her in bed with Gary. She was afraid that Chris and Fliss might find out. She knew that her foster parents were unhappy enough at her relationship with Gary, and this would give them just the excuse they needed to keep her and Gary apart. It wasn't as if the two of them had been _doing_ anything…they just liked to sleep next to each other. Marina felt safer knowing Gary was there. She knew Annie and the others would frown on it, but to Marina it didn't feel wrong or dirty. It felt completely natural. She always kept her clothes on, she always let Gary know when he was doing something she wasn't comfortable with, and he always respected her feelings. Other than that one crazy moment in her house the previous day, they'd never even come close to going out of control. And she would make sure she never allowed _that_ to happen again.

She watched as they hurried from the room, and for a few moments she sat alone in the dorm. Then she got up and went through to the girls' room. Gemini was still asleep, so Marina walked quietly, not wanting to disturb her. She reached for the DVD player remote control once more. Nothing happened when she tried to play the recording of her parents, and she checked the player. It was empty. The disk was gone. Marina assumed that somebody had to be studying whatever evidence was on it. Unhappily she dropped the remote, sank down on to her bed and drew her legs towards her, hugging them tightly, sobbing a little, her tears dripping on to her bare knees, feeling warm against her soft skin. She knew the recording wasn't real. She knew her parents wouldn't really be there when she played it. But still, if she allowed herself to pretend, then for a moment or two it felt as if they _were_ real, as if they had never died, as if her life had never been torn apart. She wanted them back. More than anything, she wanted to have them back. She wanted this to be a horrible, terrible dream she would wake up from any minute. She knew it wasn't. She knew this was real, and she'd never see her family again. She knew they were dead. She knew they'd been murdered. Marina wondered what she might do if she ever encountered the people responsible for her family's murder. Would she seek revenge? Would she be happy to simply see them brought to justice? Did it even matter? It wouldn't bring back the dead ones she had loved. Nothing would. Nothing could.

-

-

-

Pyro was jolted awake by somebody shaking his shoulder.

"John, what are you doing sleeping out here?" Rogue was saying.

He opened his eyes to find himself sitting against the wall outside Gemini's room. He'd sat down here last night in case she'd woken up and started crying and needed him. He must have fallen asleep.

"Ugh," he mumbled as his mind shrugged off the shackles of sleep. "Oh, Gemini had some problems last night. I had to stay with her."

He didn't want to be too specific. Rogue wanted to put out her hand and help him stand, but she knew she couldn't touch him. Instead she took him by the elbow, where his sleeve protected him from her absorption, and helped him up.

"I thought I heard someone screaming last night," she said. "Was that – ?"

Pyro would have told anybody else to piss off and mind their own business, but for some reason it was different with Rogue. He didn't fully understand why.

"That was Gemini, yes."

"She OK?"

"I – I don't know. I should check on her."

"OK. Listen, if you think she needs a woman to talk to her – "

"I'll let you know. Thanks, Rogue."

"Sure."

She left and headed downstairs for breakfast while Pyro quietly opened Gemini's door and slipped inside. His daughter was awake, sitting up in bed, in the same huddled position he'd found her in last night, her legs drawn up towards her and held tightly together. Her eyes stared unseeingly in front of her and she made no reaction to his entrance.

"Gemini…do you want to talk?"

She shook her head slowly.

"Look, I'm going to go down for breakfast, OK? I'll bring you up something."

The girl made no reply. Pyro pulled some clothes off the pile on her chair, and put them at the end of her bed.

"You get dressed and when I come back up we'll talk, OK?"

Again she didn't make any response. Pyro was uncertain of exactly what he should be doing. It was clear she was in shock and still traumatised by her past. He had no idea of the best way to help her get over it. He knew that, as her parent, it was his responsibility to guide her through troubled times like this. He was beginning to wonder whether it had been such a great idea to adopt her the way he had, given the fact he didn't have the first idea what to do in situations like this. He could prevent her from being hurt, he could protect her from harm, but that wasn't the only thing a good father needed. He needed to be able to help her once she had already been hurt. He didn't know how he was supposed to react to this. _Well, I guess every father feels like this sometimes. It's not as if they run courses teaching you how to do it_. He kissed his daughter's forehead, and was encouraged by the fact that she didn't flinch away from his touch. Still worried and uncertain, he left the room, closing the door behind him.

When he got to the dining room, he found to his surprise that the table normally occupied by himself and the other adults was empty. Were they eating someplace else? Pyro had no desire to eat in the company of the children, so he stopped the nearest kid and asked him where the X-Men had gone.

"Front room," the boy said.

In the front room was where Pyro found them. They were gathered around the TV and none of them was speaking. Nobody seemed to notice as he entered.

"What's up?" he asked.

Rogue turned to look at him, "There's been another terrorist attack."

"What? Where?"

"The Vatican. There was some sort of Mass. Thousands of people were killed."

Neil kept his thoughts to himself. He'd predicted there would be further attacks, and it would have been easy to say 'I told you so', but it would have accomplished nothing. Besides, even if they had tried to do something about it, it was unlikely they could have stopped this attack. They wouldn't have had any idea where it would strike.

"Is it the same guys with the badges?" Pyro asked.

"Why don't you tell us?" Logan retorted.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Work it out."

"Sorry, I've got more important things to worry about than your overactive imagination. If you need me, I'll be with my daughter."

Pyro left the room, and the others waited for him to move out of earshot.

"Logan, do you really think he's responsible?" Scott asked.

"Don't you?"

"Well…if it wasn't for the badges, I might agree with you."

"I think Logan's right," said Bobby. "Did you see Pyro's face? He didn't look the slightest bit concerned about the attack. I know he doesn't like humans, but still, you'd expect him to show _some_ reaction."

Rogue shook her head, "I think he's got other things on his mind. His kid's – well, she's a bit messed up. Did you hear her scream last night?"

"That was the sound of Pyro being a good father, was it?" Logan said dryly.

"John wouldn't have done this," she maintained, pointing to the TV screen. "Even if he _was_ going to do something like that, he wouldn't attack people indiscriminately. There might have been mutants killed by today's blast. John wouldn't risk that."

"Neil, what did you think about his reaction?" Scott asked.

Neil shrugged, "Well, like Rogue said, there's a lot on his mind."

"So what are we going to do about this?" said Kurt. "There's been three attacks in three days. We have to assume there's going to be a fourth tomorrow."

"Yes, but where?" asked Chloe. "New York, London, Rome – is there a pattern there, apart from the fact they're all major cities?"

"Perhaps they're striking further east each time," Dominic suggested. "Maybe they'll hit China next, or Japan."

"I don't understand. The attack in New York was the work of Middle Eastern terrorists. We know that because Pyro's daughter was there. The attack in London was by the IRA. We know that because Dominic was there. We don't know who was behind this third attack, but I'm betting it's another independent group. What's the link between them? Why are they working together?"

"There must be somebody else, somebody behind the scenes," Neil said. "Somebody who's orchestrating the attacks and using well-known terrorist factions as front men, using them like puppets."

"Who? Magneto? Who's claiming responsibility for this attack?" somebody asked.

"No-one has come forward. Same as the others."

"Seems as if it's being blamed on mutants, like the other two."

"Typical," said Bobby. "We're always the convenient scapegoat, aren't we? Anything goes wrong and we get accused of doing it."

"Like the way you were accusing Pyro?" said Rogue.

"Hey, that's different. He's earned his reputation."

Cyclops interrupted them, "We have to do something to stop these attacks before any more lives are lost. Whatever's the reason for the bombings, we've got to stop it. The human authorities are getting nowhere. If mutants continue to be blamed, then serious conflicts might erupt between us and the humans. If we can try to narrow down the possibilities for the next target, then we can go out there and try to stop the next attack from happening. Other than that we should concentrate on trying to find out who's directing the attacks, which means finding out if Magneto is still alive, which means finding Mystique."

"Easier said than done," said Chloe. "If she and Magneto _are_ responsible for this, I don't imagine she's going to let herself be found."

Neil sighed, "It's a bad idea, but I'll try using Cerebro."

He stood. Someone said, "Why don't you ask Annie to do it? Isn't she a stronger telepath?"

"Yes, but using the machine takes experience as well as power. She doesn't have the experience, and this isn't the time for her to acquire it. I'll let you know if I find anything."

He left. Scott raised his eyebrows, "Well, let's try and work out where the terrorists will strike next. I guess we'd better cancel today's classes."

"The kids were hoping for a holiday anyway, it's such a nice day," said Rogue.

"Let's get to work."-

-

-

-

When Neil left the room to make his way towards the elevator, he found his children waiting for him. Annie and Gary stood together, their postures identical, both turning to face him at exactly the same instant, with exactly the same movement. While most people probably didn't notice it, Neil had not missed the subtle signs of what had happened to his daughter and son.

"There's something on your mind," he said to them.

Neither of them missed the fact he referred to their minds as a singular entity, which was certainly not an inaccurate description. They weren't sure if he was trying to be funny or if he was just being literal. They guessed the latter.

"We've been having these dreams," Annie began. "Well, actually, it's really just one dream. We've had it more times than I can remember."

"Both of you?"

"Yeah. We have it at different times, but it keeps recurring."

"Does it mean anything?" Gary asked. "I mean, everyone has nightmares, but it just seems to be the same thing over and over again. It's the same for both of us. We think it must be happening for a reason. Maybe it has something to do with our sharing minds."

Neil raised his eyebrows, "I'm not sure what you expect me to tell you. I'm certainly not an expert on – uh, your condition. What happens in the dream?"

It was Annie who answered, "A nuclear missile strikes a city and destroys it. Every trace of life is gone."

"Well, I'm no dream counsellor," said their father. "But it could be part of some kind of residual fear from the Apocalypse. I think we all had nightmares about nuclear destruction at that time. Maybe you two are still affected by it, since you were the ones most deeply involved in stopping it. Maybe your minds share the dream because that's the strongest memories you have from the moment when your minds first fused together."

"You think that could be the reason?" Gary mused.

"I don't know. It's possible. As I said, I really don't know anything about the shared-minds state you two are in. The only person who might be able to help you is dead."

"The Professor?" they said.

"No, although he might have told you something useful. I was thinking of Jacqueline. She was Pyro's friend. Her power enabled her to share her mind with other consciousnesses. She might know something of what you're going through. Or should I say, she might have known. It's much too late now."

"Yeah…"

"So you think this dream is just a harmless piece of fear?" Gary said. "It's nothing to worry about?"

"I told you, Gary, I don't know," Neil said. "Parents don't know everything. You should be old enough to appreciate that by now."

"I was just wondering," Annie said uncertainly. "If it might be a premonition or – or something…"

Neil considered it, "Well, the UN security council _is_ holding an important vote on the choice between nuclear weapon retention or destruction. It's possible that trouble could break out over that. Whether any nation would go as far as to use nuclear weapons on another, is anyone's guess. In today's chaotic political climate, anything could happen."

"But how could we _have_ a premonition?" Gary asked. "We don't have anything like Cassandra's foresight. Annie had some theory it was a warning from God, but I thought He didn't do that kind of thing any more."

"Not since the first century, no. And not again until Christ's return."

Annie frowned, "I just thought since Gary and myself are the most powerful beings alive, that God might have set some task for us, and given us this dream to show us what we should do."

"I don't think so," Neil said. "Your power is insignificant compared to God's, remember. Don't become too proud of your abilities. Arrogance was my problem too."

She accepted the rebuke wordlessly. Her father said, "I'll speak to you later. If you have the dream again, try to find out more about it. Find out if it's exactly the same every time, or if it changes. Find out if it's referring to a particular place or time. Let me know what you discover."

"OK."

He turned and headed for the elevator. Not entirely reassured or comforted, the two teenagers looked at each other.

"Well, I'll get working on the DVD," Annie said. "I think Fliss has got it in her office."

"Right. I'll go back up to Marina."

-

-

-

Pyro returned to Gemini's room with some fruit, and he was just in time to stop little Acceleratus from pushing the door open.

"I don't think Gemini wants company just now, Accel," he told her.

The child held up a bright blue flower in a small vase, "But I wanted to show her this flower! I grew it specially for her and Cassie! Well, Atlas grew it for me…"

"I'm sure she'll love it, but she can't see anybody right now. She's – well, she's not feeling very well."

"Should I make her a card?" the little girl asked innocently.

"No, just – just let her be alone. I'll show her the flower."

Disappointed, the child left, and Pyro watched her go. He was saddened for a moment as he thought about how innocent little Accel was. Gemini was only seven years older yet her innocence was gone, gone forever, destroyed by Van Gaarde. He went into the bedroom, closing the door behind him. Gemini did not appear to moved since he was last up. She had not put on any of the clothes he'd left out for her. He put the vase with the blue flower on her bedside table, and handed her an apple, "Here."

She looked at it, but didn't take it.

"Honey, you've got to eat something."

Gemini refused to meet his eyes, and mumbled, "I'm gonna take a shower."

She didn't even ask him to look the other way, dropping her nightdress to the floor and walking naked into the small shower room that was attached to the older girls' dorm. She was in there for several minutes before he realised he hadn't heard the sound of water running.

"Gemini?"

She was in there, huddled against the wall, her head buried between her knees, her shoulders shaking as she cried through eyes that had emptied of tears long ago. For a moment he was taken back to four years ago, seeing that traumatised naked little figure cringing against the wall.

"Aren't you going to use the shower?"

"There's no point," she sobbed. "I – I feel so dirty, but – but taking a shower isn't going to clean it off."

Then he understood what she meant. She felt as if she was stained, contaminated by Van Gaarde's actions, blemished for life. She was unembarrassed about her nakedness because she had no pride or dignity left, so what was the point of hiding anything? She felt there was nothing left that she could call her privacy, and she couldn't see how she would ever feel any different. He knelt down beside her and put a towel around her shoulders, preserving her modesty.

"I can't possibly understand the way you feel, Gemini, I mean I'm a man, how could I? I wish you had a mother to help you get through this. I – " he searched for the right words, "You can't let your whole life stop because of this. It wasn't your fault. You aren't dirty because of it. If you give up on life then Van Gaarde has won. He wanted to crush your spirit and make you give up, didn't he? You can't let him win."

She didn't respond, only pulled her legs even tighter together. He said, "I don't think you're dirty. I think you're perfect and unspoiled and – and you've got a bright future ahead of you. But your future is what _you_ want to make it, not what Van Gaarde or me or anybody else wants to make it. Your life is your own, honey. You are what you believe you are. If you think you're dirty, just say 'I'm not', and you won't be."

He had no idea if any of this was getting through to her. He had no idea how to deal with this. He was just saying what instinct told him to.

"Dad?"

"Yeah, honey?"

"It wasn't just Van Gaarde."

"What wasn't?"

"He wasn't the only one. There was – there was another man who raped me. I don't know who he was. Sometimes they'd do it together. He – they – I – I wish I was dead…"

"No, you don't."

"Why?"

"Because I love you."

She said nothing, but she looked into his eyes for the first time that morning. In her eyes, through the mists and oceans of sorrow and pain, he saw the tiniest glimmer of hope. His daughter was a fighter. She had not given up yet. He knew she wasn't going to let this destroy her life.

"Dad?"

"Yeah, honey?"

"Would you have adopted me if you'd known about this? If you'd known I'd been raped, would you still have adopted me?"

"Of course I would. It doesn't change anything about who you are and how much you need me."

A smile almost appeared on her face, and her voice shook as she said, "R – really?"

"Yes. Come on now, have your shower and then you can get dressed. We're going to get through this, you and I."

He went back through to the dormitory while she showered, and when she came out she had the towel around her, and she asked him to turn around while she got dressed. Pyro smiled. If she had recovered her modesty, then he was obviously doing something right. When she was dressed, she walked over and put her arms around him, resting her head on his chest and seeking to be comforted. Pyro held his daughter and kissed the top of her head.

_Will she ever get over this_? he wondered, _will she ever be the same as she was before? I've never got over losing Jacqueline. I'll never again be the person I was before then. _Then he thought, _I suppose we all have our own demons. I can't get over Jacqueline; Scott and Logan can't get over Jean; Gemini can't get over her past; and the rest of them have all had their troubles as well. It's bizarre really; we all pretend to be happy on the surface, when instead we've all got monsters and horrors tearing at us from inside. We all pretend to look happy because we're afraid that otherwise people will think we're strange. The real truth is that we're all unhappy, but we maintain this collective fantasy that says we're not. If only we could admit our problems and confess our weaknesses, maybe we could work together to overcome them. Isn't life odd sometimes?_

_-_

_-_

_-_

They knew they had to find some pattern in the attacks. Three terror attacks in three days could only lead them to assume there would be another one the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that, until – until what? Until somebody finally came forward and made some kind of statement or ultimatum? Until the fear and tension spilled over and riots began? Until God Himself intervened? The X-Men didn't want to wait for any of those things. If these attacks really _were_ the work of Magneto, they had to find out what it was he wanted and stop his plans, whatever those were, from coming to fruition. What could he hope to accomplish from these attacks? Was he simply trying to stir up tension between mutants and humans? Was he going to bring the world to a point of near chaos and then issue his demands to the human governments? Or was he trying to catch the X-Men's attention and force them to deal with the terrorists while he launched another strike elsewhere?

They reminded themselves that they had no evidence he was even alive, except the engraved adamantium discs – were those evidence enough? Could there be some other explanation? Storm and Nightcrawler had taken one of the jets to London to pick up the only clue they had: the badge disc Helios had found. They brought the disc, along with Helios and Cassandra, back to the mansion. Cyclops wanted to analyse the disc to see if it really _was_ adamantium, but Wolverine had a much quicker method. Stabbing at the disc with his claws, he could make no impression whatsoever. It was definitely made of the indestructible metal.

"So what do we do now, dust it for fingerprints?" he'd said sarcastically.

Oculus had returned to tell them that Cerebro had developed a glitch, and he would have to spend time fixing it. He estimated it would be at least an hour or two before he could use it. Shapeshifter and Shock had been busy burning a copy of the DVD-ROM that Aqua had brought back. Crusader had joined them. Pyro had not been seen since morning; they assumed he was with his kid. Rogue was the only X-Man who was wholly convinced that Pyro had nothing to do with the terror attacks. She didn't know exactly why she was so sure, but there wasn't a doubt in her mind: he was innocent. She knew she liked him – they'd always been friends – but since she was married to Iceman she knew she couldn't have any romantic feelings for Pyro. She was sure that couldn't be why she automatically trusted him.

"I think I've found something," Cyclops was suddenly heard to say.

He was looking through the log he'd kept of major terrorist attacks around the world in the last few years. Since Magneto's unexplained disappearance, Scott had kept record of all such incidents in case any of them turned out to be Magneto reappearing on the scene. Then they had been told their arch-enemy was dead, and his focus had switched to recording events in case Pyro was responsible.

Having gotten the others' attention, Scott explained, "The three attacks have been in New York, London and Rome, right? Well, look at this. According to my log the same thing happened three years ago."

"_Exactly_ the same thing?" asked Logan.

"Unexplained attacks on these three cities within the same week. Not in the same order, and again no immediately obvious connection, but it's almost exactly what we have here."

"I remember those attacks," Storm nodded. "We'd just started to take an interest, then they stopped abruptly, for no apparent reason. Just then we heard a rumour Pyro was causing trouble in Eastern Europe, and we never found time to look into the attacks."

"Nobody ever found out who was responsible. It was assumed to be just some random nutcases who ran out of steam."

"So whoever was responsible then is responsible now?" asked Iceman.

"We can only assume so. What I'm wondering is: will this tell us what their next target will be?"

"But why is history repeating itself?" Bobby interrupted. "The attacks three years ago didn't change anything. I mean, not in the grand scheme of things. A lot of people died, but the terrorists never actually got anything to change. Why'd they do it? Why are they doing it now?"

"Maybe they were testing to see what kind of response they'd get," Rogue suggested. "Maybe that was just a dress rehearsal and this is the real thing."

"What if it was Magneto testing _us_ to see how _we'd_ react?" said Nightcrawler. "Maybe he was trying to bait us into a trap, and he got bored when we didn't bite soon enough."

"We still have to find out where the next attack will be," Scott reminded them. "According to my records, four other cities were hit in the space of a week, one per day, then the attacks stopped."

"Which cities?"

He consulted the log, "Johannesburg, South Africa; Sydney, Australia; Toronto, Canada; and Edinburgh, UK."

"Edinburgh…" said Gaia softly. "I remember the attack on Edinburgh. So many people died; it was horrible."

"We have to go to these cities," Scott said. "There's no guarantee the terrorists will stick to the same places as before, but it's the only lead we've got to go on. We'll have to watch the places we think are most likely to be terrorist targets."

"I'm sure Pyro could help us there," said Logan sarcastically. "He's got plenty of experience picking terrorist targets."

"What if we run into Magneto?" Rogue wanted to know. "What if he's recruited a new Brotherhood?"

"We do whatever's necessary to stop the attacks," said Scott. "If Magneto wants a fight, he'll get one. All right, let's move. We've only got until tomorrow to stop the next attack."

-

-

-

Gary slipped his arm around Marina's waist as the two of them walked slowly through the gardens in the peace of the morning.

"Are you all right?" he asked her.

Marina whispered softly, "Yeah. I'm still – I'm still getting over the initial shock of seeing my mom and dad. I never thought I would – I would hear their voices again."

"We've got to find out who murdered them."

"Murder…" she whispered, almost to herself. "Of course. My family were murdered...right in front of my eyes. Did you – did you look at what's on the rest of the disk?"

"Annie's doing that. She's with, uh, your mum and dad."

"They're not my mom and dad," said Marina. "They don't expect me to – to call them that. They're just Chris and Fliss."

"Isn't it weird having them as parents when they're not married?"

"Well, like I said, they – they're not my parents. They're more like an aunt and uncle."

Gary said nothing for a minute or so, then he stopped walking and turned to face her. She stopped too, and looked at him expectantly. There was obviously something on his mind.

"Uh, Marina?"

"Yeah?"

"When are _we_ going to get married?"

"When you ask me," she said nervously.

Silence fell for a few moments. Then:

"Marina?"

"Yeah?"

"Will you marry me?"

"Before I answer…can I – can I ask _you_ something?"

He nodded, "Of course."

"OK. Do you want to get married because you're ready to commit yourself to me, or – or because you want an excuse to have sex with me?"

"Because I love you, and I want to be with you forever."

"Gary, please – answer the question."

"All right, because I want to commit myself to you."

Marina sighed, "I – I'm not sure you realise just what that means."

"What do you mean?"

"Would you be willing to live underwater?"

"What?"

"If we get married, I want to spend at least some of our time living underwater. I can – I can be happy down there. I can't be happy up here."

"But Marina, I can't – "

"I know you can't. You'd have to make a lot of sacrifices and put up with a lot of difficulties. I – I can't live my entire life on the surface. I have to spend some time underwater. That – that's my one condition. If you ask me to marry you, then I'll say yes. But only ask me if you agree to my condition. If you're not willing to do that, I understand."

"Marina…I can barely even swim…"

"I know. Gary, I'm not trying to put pressure on you. I don't expect you to agree with it. But at the same time, you – you can't expect me to live my whole life above water when I don't belong here."

"Yeah…you're right…"

She sighed sadly, "Maybe we should just forget about marriage. I've – I've been dreading this moment, actually. I knew I was going to have to tell you someday. I – I don't think we have a future together."

Gary shook his head, and caressed her cheek with his fingers, "No, no, I don't want to lose you. I suppose it'll take some getting used to, but I'll do it. I'll live underwater with you. I agree to your condition."

She shook her head, "I don't think you know what you're saying. Let's – let's try it. Let's spend a day underwater together and – and see how you feel about it."

"OK. When? Not right now, I hope."

"As soon as our lives have settled down enough. As soon we find out who's trying to kill me."

As if on cue, they heard footsteps behind them, and Annie appeared. She looked at them and said, "We've studied the disk."

Marina's eyes widened, "And?"

"And the evidence your brother found seems to point to a senior Navy admiral. He has strong links with the government, and with powerful tycoons from various industries. Your brother accidentally intercepted one of the admiral's transmissions, but what he heard made him so suspicious he decided to intercept a few more."

"What did he find out?"

"Our admiral friend was responsible for some top-secret naval research projects. It looks as if he was scamming money and stealing technology from the projects, and retaining them as part of some private venture he was involved in."

"And that's why my brother was killed? And – and the rest of my family..."

"I'm afraid so," said Annie. "The admiral couldn't afford to let the Navy find out about his little operation. He couldn't afford to let your brother tell his superiors what he'd found out. The research projects were considered vital to the defence of the United States and her allies. Had the admiral been found out, he might have faced the death penalty."

"So he killed my family."

"I assume he found out that your family were making an escape on your boat, and he sent some naval vessel to intercept. Probably told them to open fire on your boat because it was full of terrorists, or something like that. After that he must have tried to cover it up. _That's_ why there are no newspaper reports on the 'accident'. He must have made sure it was never reported. The only reason we know about it is because you survived."

"Then he sent some men to ransack Marina's house in case there was any evidence against him there," her brother guessed.

"Yes," his older sister nodded. "When we went down there, somebody must have seen us going in, and reported back to him. He sent that first man to kill Marina in case she knew anything of his secret. When that man didn't report back, he sent those others."

Gary thought for a moment, then said, "So what about the suicide tooth the first guy had? Remember he bit down on it and poisoned himself. What's the story with that?"

"We haven't quite figured that out yet," Annie admitted. "It's unlikely this admiral would be able to command people to kill themselves to protect his secret. There must be something more to it. But at least we know why Marina's in danger."

"What can be possibly be so important that he has to kill my entire family to hide it?!" Marina snapped with uncharacteristic anger, her tiny hands tightening into fists.

"That's what we have to find out."

"Do we know the admiral's name?" said Gary.

"Yes. He's Admiral Peter McKenzie. He has a distinguished naval career with several decorations for bravery, initiative and leadership. And political aspirations as well. Come down to Fliss' office and we'll show you what we've found."-

Gary and Marina walked hand in hand after Annie until they were back inside the school. On the way they passed Cyclops and Wolverine, who were heading for the hangar.

"Where are you guys going?"

"Toronto," Scott replied. "We think the next terrorist strike might occur there. We have to stop any more people from getting hurt."

"Good luck," Gary said genuinely.

Logan ignored the boy. He was still angry about the many times he and Gladiator had fought against each other during the last X-Men/Brotherhood conflict. Most of all he was angry that most times Gladiator had come out on top. He felt sorry for Marina too. Gladiator probably treated the girl no better than a sex slave, no doubt taking advantage of her silence and her nervousness to dominate her both physically and psychologically. She would probably be forced to bear him at least three children before she was even eighteen…

"Do you need us to stay here?" Annie was asking.

Scott shook his head, "Oculus and Gaia are staying behind to keep an eye on the kids. The rest of us are splitting into pairs and going to where we think the terrorists might hit next."

"Looks like I drew the short straw in terms of pairing," Logan muttered, but Scott ignored him.

"There's something we may have to check out, so I was just checking if it's OK to leave the mansion," Annie said.

"No problem, but you won't be able to go far. We'll be using all the jets."

The two men headed off, and the three teens continued to Felicity's office. She and Chris had already departed for Edinburgh, where Chris had grown up, to search for the terrorists. Annie sat down in front of the computer and indicated the other two should pull up a seat. She showed them the information that was stored on the DVD: mostly recordings of radio messages intercepted by Marina's brother; and his notes and conclusions regarding the admiral's activities. There was nothing in there that Annie hadn't already told them.

"So where does this admiral live? Can we pay him a visit?" Gary said.

"That was my plan," Annie agreed. "We need to find out where his research is based, and have a look around there. That might tell us more about what he's doing with the money and parts he's stealing from the project. Hopefully if we can find some way of shutting down his operation or exposing it, he'll stop trying to kill Marina. Now obviously his lab will be well hidden since it's a military research complex. I think we're going to have to find the admiral himself and ask him where it is."

"'Ask' him?" Gary repeated, a wicked smile creeping across his face.

"As persuasively as we possibly can."

"So where do we find him?" Marina asked.

Annie tapped the computer screen, where she'd been doing some Web research, "His home is right here in New York. We can drive there."

"You can drive?" said Gary.

"Yes."

"Do you have a licence?"

"Do you care?"

"No."

"Then let's go."

-

-

-

Chronos was watching the girl of his desire as she made her way down the stairs, along with her father. He knew her name now – Gemini – but he hadn't yet found an opportunity to get near her. She was crying and hiding her face, staying close to her father, whose had his arm tightly around her shoulders. Chronos frowned. If he wanted to get close to her, he'd have to do it when her father wasn't there. He had already had grief off the man for staring at the girl. He continued to watch them, hoping they'd split up, hoping he could try and approach Gemini, but they stayed together all the way to the front door. He sighed.

He'd been given a brief tour of the mansion building, and he knew now that his original suspicions had been wrong. This wasn't government. This really was what they claimed it was. It was a little further away from home than he might have liked, but there was nothing back in Glasgow that he would particularly miss. He had never been close to his foster family, he'd had no real friends, and the area where he'd lived had been pretty unpleasant. Litter, drunks and junkies had covered the streets, and seeing a car without its windows smashed or tyres slashed had been a rare sight.

It had always made him angry. He shouldn't have been living in such squalor. He deserved better. He was Chronos, and he would one day be the master of time. Didn't people realise that? Didn't people realise that some were destined for higher things than others? This mansion, richly furnished and well appointed, seemed more fitting. It seemed like the kind of place where superior beings ought to live. Mutants like him were the world's elite, and they should be regarded and treated that way. One day the humans would be overthrown, their Suits and their conspiracies defeated, and mutants would rise to take their rightful place as rulers. Or better yet…as gods.

-

-

-

The four young mutants sat around the table in one of the empty classrooms. On the table before them lay the adamantium disc engraved with the words **MUTANT FREEDOM**. Helios, Cassandra, Vertigo and Atlas had been given the task of trying to find out anything more they could about its origin.

"They think Magneto made this," Vertigo was saying. "They think he's still alive."

Atlas had picked up the disc and was examining it closely, trying to see what he might find out about the method of engraving. If it had been done by some sort of chisel-like cutting instrument, then surely there would have been cut and chip marks left behind. Or if it had been done by hardening liquid adamantium into a specified mould, there might still be imperfections in the solidified state. If it had been done, as the X-Men suspected, by Magneto's metal mastery, then there should be no such flaws in the surface. Atlas said so to the others.

"So it was either cut, moulded, or Magnetised," said Vertigo. "What's your money on?"

"I have no idea. I don't really know what they expect us to find. If this thing was made of stone, I'd able to tell a lot about its contours and how it was shaped, but since it's made of metal..."

"It can't have been cut," said Cassandra. "Adamantium's supposed to be indestructible, isn't it? I mean, how _can_ you cut into it?"

Helios looked at her thoughtfully, "Do you remember when you guys first attacked the mansion?"

The three of them bristled, but Dominic held up his gloved hands, "It's all right, I'm not trying to start any trouble. I was just thinking: your bloke Mole tunnelled his way inside our base, didn't he?"

"He did," said Vertigo. "What's your point?"

"My point is: our base was shielded by a layer of adamantium specifically to prevent tunnelling. Somehow Mole got through it."

"His knuckles were adamantium-tipped," Cassandra told him. "He was born like that."

"OK. So my point is, maybe you can cut into this stuff using blades made of the same material. Maybe that's how this disc was made, with an adamantium drill or something."

Atlas and Vertigo raised their eyebrows and thought it over. The foreseer girl shook her head, "No. I saw that guy Wolverine trying to cut into the disc. He didn't get anywhere. His claws are made of the same stuff, aren't they?"

"Yeah," said Helios. "Oh well…so much for that idea I suppose."

"What if somebody's discovered an even stronger metal?" Atlas suggested. "That would be able to cut into it."

Vertigo nodded, "Yeah…we should find out if there's any research being done into that area."

Helios stood, "Scott and Kurt should have some scientific journals I can borrow. I'll be back in five minutes."

-

-

-

"Honey, are you OK?"

Gemini sighed, "Dad, you keep asking me that."

"Well, I want to see if there's anything I can do to make you feel better."

She said nothing, and returned to her drink. Pyro had decided that a change of scenery, getting her away from the mansion, might help her to calm down and begin to come to terms with her long-forgotten but recently-surfaced memories. There was a café in town not far from the school, and he'd taken her there for something to drink. Now Gemini sat across the table from him, sipping her soft drink, unable to meet his eyes. He felt sad. The lively spark that had always been in her eyes, the intense desire she had to live her life to the full and enjoy every moment she had, was gone. In its absence she was an empty shell of a girl, taking no interest in life and merely doing whatever was set in front of her. She was willing to go on living, but that was all.

He finished his drink and said, "I'm going to the men's room. Back in a second."

She made no reaction, just continued to hold her half-empty drink in both hands and stare at it as he left. Gemini still felt dirty. She felt as if she had been defiled and corrupted for life. _The number of times Van Gaarde and that other guy touched me, I'm no better than a hooker_, she thought. Her virginity had been stolen away from her and she would never have it back. She would never have the chance to give it to the man she chose to, as was a girl's right. Her virtue and her womanly pride were gone. What was the point of trying to live her life now when it was ruined? Would she ever be able to have sex normally, without the memories flooding back as they had done last night? Would she ever be able to feel comfortable around men? She was used to being an object of sexual desire, having lived on the island with guys like Overlord, Scarab, Mole and Atlas, who would take any opportunity to ogle her panties. She _hated_ it! It felt as if they too were violating her body by leering at her, not caring one jot for her modesty or honour. There were few men she could feel at ease with, knowing they weren't looking at her lustfully. Pyro was obviously one. Gladiator was another. She didn't trust the male X-Men at all. Apart from that…even Vertigo, who she'd thought actually cared for her, had clearly only been after one thing. Why else had he tried to make love to her after one date, if it could even be called a date? Gemini felt as if she was just a sex toy for every man to use as he pleased. She buried her head in her hands and sobbed forlornly.

"Hey, honey," came a voice.

She looked up. The woman at the next table was looking at her with concern in her eyes, "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," Gemini lied, wiping at her tears.

Holding up a cigarette, the woman asked, "Can I have a light?"

Gemini looked over to see Pyro had left his lighter sitting on the table. She flicked it open, ignited it and held it out to light the woman's cigarette. Their hands brushed together as the cigarette caught light, and the woman nodded, "Thanks."

A few moments later she got up and left the café. Gemini put Pyro's lighter back on the table. It wasn't until she went to pick up her drink that she noticed the piece of paper the woman had slipped into her palm. Intrigued, the teenager unfolded it.

**Meet me out back**.** Now**.

Now even more intrigued, Gemini looked up to see if the woman was still in sight. There was no sign of her. Her curiosity piqued, she was about to stand and walk outside, when the thought occurred to her: what if this was a trap? What if the woman wanted to kidnap her? What if she had been sent by Van Gaarde to grab her? The girl shook her head, _don't be stupid. He's dead._ Gemini was going to sit down and ignore the note, but she couldn't. Something was bothering her. Was it the handwriting? Did it seem familiar? She wasn't sure. Clutching the lighter, she walked to the exit. If anything happened to her she'd light it and scream at the top of her voice for Pyro.

When she walked round the back of the café, there was nobody there, just an old tramp sleeping beside a dustbin. Gemini looked around for the woman, but she wasn't there. Was this some of kind of joke? Was it a trap? She checked the area to make sure there were plenty of escape routes just in case. What the hell was going on here? Why had the woman slipped this note into her hand and then disappeared?

"Hello, Gemini."

She whirled in surprise to see the woman standing behind her. The tramp had disappeared. For a moment the girl was perplexed, then her brain began to put things together.

"Mystique?" she asked uncertainly.

The woman nodded, "I wanted to talk to you alone. Without Pyro."

"Are you all right? I haven't seen you since – "

"Since the Apocalypse was stopped, I know. I'm OK. Listen, Gemini. We haven't much time. There's something I need you to tell the X-Men."

The girl looked at her, "What?"

"They think Magneto is responsible for these terror attacks. They think he's trying to start trouble with the humans again."

"Huh? He's dead, isn't he?" asked a very confused Gemini.

"Yes. They think he faked it. They think I lied to Pyro and you."

Gemini didn't bother to ask how Mystique knew all this. It was obvious she had her methods. Providing Magneto had trained her to mask her thoughts from telepathy, she could have been in and out of the mansion a hundred times posing as anybody she wanted.

"I want you to tell them that," the metamorph instructed. "Magneto is dead. I'd give anything for that not to be true, but that's the way it is. They're going at this completely the wrong way."

"So – so who _is_ responsible for the terror attacks?"

"I don't know. I'm still trying to work that out myself. I – "

She was interrupted by a man's voice from the side, "Mystique?"

The girl and the woman turned.

"Pyro."

"Long time no see," he said sarcastically. "There was me going under the impression you were dead."

She didn't rise to the bait. He went on, "You say Magneto's dead. How can you expect us to believe you, when you lied about your own death?"

"You're in no position to lecture me, Pyro, not since you surrendered to the X-Men."

"I didn't surrender to anyone! It was an alliance."

"Sure it was. Erik would never have done it."

"He's allied with them before!"

"Only when lives depended on it. You've given up the fight. Admit it. I bet you even take orders from Cyclops now."

"That's bullshit! I haven't given up anything! All right, maybe I'm just more concerned about my daughter and not wanting to put her in danger. What's wrong with that?"

She shook her head, "It doesn't matter. I never expected you to live up to him anyway."

"What are you talking about?" he said angrily.

"Shut up and listen. I haven't much time. These terrorist attacks are being blamed on mutants. If they're allowed to continue then mutants will be killed, as people seek some sort of revenge. I can't let that happen. I want you to tell the X-Men they're looking from entirely the wrong angle. Erik is dead."

"All right, I'll tell them, but what makes you think they'll believe me? Some of them even suspect _me_ of directing the terrorists. If I tell them I've met you in secret, they'll just assume we're restarting the Brotherhood and I'm a spy in their midst."

"I have proof."

"Proof he's dead?"

"Yes."

Mystique took off the necklace she was wearing, and held up the locket. It had a tiny hinge on one side, and she carefully prised it open. Pyro and Gemini moved closer to see what was inside. All they could see was a small pile of grey, filmy material like dust.

"Erik's ashes," Mystique explained. "Sometimes it feels almost as if he's still with me."

She stepped closer to Gemini and fastened the necklace around the girl's throat, "Show that to the X-Men. They can DNA-test it if they want."

"When shall we give you it back?" the girl asked.

"You can keep it. I'd like to think Erik would be watching over you. Even though I know he's gone, it will give me some sort of assurance that you'll always be safe."

"I'll never let harm come to her," Pyro said, slipping a protective arm around Gemini's small shoulders. "She's already suffered far more than anyone ever should."

The woman had turned to leave, but he called, "I don't understand, Mystique. Why did you deceive us? Why did you pretend to be dead?"

"Because, Pyro, I wanted to disappear."

"From us?"

"From everything. I knew it would take me a long time to get over losing Erik. I couldn't bear to be around anyone else during that time."

"I cried for days when I thought you were dead," said the girl. "I missed you."

"You had your father with you."

"I guess…will I see you again?"

"I can't promise anything, but I hope so."

Then she was gone.


	10. Chapter Nine: Seeking the Answers

Annie had pressed upon the other two the importance of stealth. They had to remain undetected until they found the admiral, or found something else that would tell them what they wanted to know. If they were seen, if they caused any kind of trouble at all, then the admiral might suspect somebody was on to him, and might very well go into hiding. They couldn't afford to let that happen. They had to find out what he was doing with the resources he was stealing from the Navy. They had to find out how to stop him from trying to kill Marina.

Gary had sat with his back turned to give the girls some privacy as they changed into their tight-fitting black uniforms.

"Where's _your_ uniform?" Marina had asked him.

"I don't have one. I'm not an X-Man, remember."

"You're not?"

He shook his head, "Technically I'm still with Pyro. I'm still part of the Brotherhood."

"What happens if – " Marina began, but lacked the confidence to finish.

Gary suspected she was going to ask 'What happens if the alliance breaks down?' but he didn't prompt her to continue. He didn't really want to answer or even think about that question. Annie had offered to let him wear one of Scott's spare uniforms.

"You're about the same size," she'd said.

He had refused. Annie was going to argue, but the outfit he was wearing was mostly dark anyway, and would suffice to hide him. They couldn't afford to be seen. Just getting inside would be no difficulty, not with the powers the three of them possessed. Getting in and back out, in possession of the information they needed, without being seen, would be much trickier. They headed for the garage and took one of the cars.

Gary had never noticed it before, but Marina's uniform was slightly different from the standard female design. The feet and the arms looked to be more webbed and flipper-like, presumably in order to increase her speed underwater. She had obviously customised it herself. Clearly Marina took her role as part of the X-Men very seriously. She refused to be there just to make up the numbers. She wasn't the spineless weakling that her trauma led so many people to assume she was. But then, most people had never seen her underwater. There was not a creature on Earth that could match her below the waves.

-

-

-

The admiral's house was a large mansion-like building isolated in the midst of sprawling landscape gardens. It wasn't as big or impressive as the mutants' school or the estate which surrounded it, but they could clearly see it must have cost a huge amount of money to purchase and maintain. A number of expensive cars were parked outside.

"Does an admiral normally make this much money?" Gary asked.

"I doubt it," said Annie.

"Maybe he inherited."

"Or maybe he's getting it through less legitimate means..."

"He killed my family," Marina said.

The three teenagers stood on the crest of a small hill about a mile or so away from the house. The car was parked at the bottom of the hill, carefully hidden from anyone who might happen to come near. Marina was holding a compact pair of binoculars to her eyes to take a closer look at the house. Annie and Gary were using their mutant eyesight to look through the walls of the building, to try and see how many people were inside. The more people present, the more difficult it would be to remain undetected.

"I can camouflage myself," Gary said. "But Crusader, you're still struggling to control it. Aqua, I can hide you using my own power, but not for very long. We can't rely on invisibility. We have to find some way to get in without needing it."

It was traditional to use each other's mutant names when on a mission, and they saw no reason to do otherwise.

"It won't be easy," Crusader replied. "The land surrounding the house is nearly all open. There's very little cover we can make use of."

Aqua had spotted something, "Look. At the f – front gate."

They focussed their eyes, and saw what she was referring to. From the front of the house two men had just emerged, holding weapons and looking around in all directions. One of them had a pair of binoculars and was scanning the landscape. Crusader quickly motioned the others to drop to the ground.

"They're guards, aren't they?" asked Aqua, instinctively speaking in a whisper.

"You don't need to lower your voice; they won't hear us from down there. Watch them, it looks as if they're following a patrol route. You're right, they must be on guard."

"What are they guarding?" Gladiator said. "Is our admiral friend just paranoid, or does he have something to hide?"

"That's what we need to find out. I can use my telepathy to fool their perception and stop them from seeing us, but there might be security cameras somewhere. I can't fool those."

"We must be able to find a way in without being detected."

A few moments passed, then Crusader said, "I think I've found a way. See that balcony on the third floor? We can levitate ourselves up there. If we keep under the cover of that line of shrubs, we should be able to get there and do it without being seen."

"Wait a minute, Aqua can't levitate herself."

"I can lift both of us," said Crusader. "I'm more worried about you. You haven't really got full control over our telekinesis yet."

"I can do it," he said confidently. "But I'd really be happier if we could distract those guards in some way."

"Leave that to me," said Aqua.

The three of them hurried down the hill and began approaching the admiral's estate. There was a small copse of trees at this point, still a good distance from the house, but it provided some cover and meant they could move a little faster. As soon as they began to get close to the house, Gladiator said, "Now would be a good time for that distraction."

"OK…"

Aqua raised her hand towards the sky, and her brow furrowed in concentration. Then they could begin to see the fruits of her labour. From the sky above where the two guards were on patrol, droplets of water began to fall.

"Of course…the water vapour in the air…you're condensing it and turning it into raindrops," said Crusader softly.

The guards looked up in dismay as they felt the 'rain' falling around them. This was just the distraction the three mutants needed to run closer to the house, ducking into cover behind the row of shrubs Crusader had mentioned earlier. Aqua continued to use her power to drop water on the two guards. By now the two men were soaked and thoroughly miserable, and were taking shelter underneath a porch of some sort at the front of the building. One of them tried to light a cigarette, but it wouldn't stay lit. Disgruntled, he tossed it away.

Picking their way cautiously through the shrubbery, scanning the area for any other guards or electronic surveillance, it did not take the teenagers long to reach the side of the house, directly beneath the balcony they were aiming for.

"So far so good," Gladiator muttered.

"You go first," his sister whispered. "If you lose control and start to fall, I'll use my own power to steady you."

Determined not to fail in front of Aqua, he shrugged off her suggestion, "I'll be fine."

"On you go then."

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and gathered his concentration together. Opening his eyes once more, he looked up at the balcony above his head. He pushed out with his mind, seeking to take hold of his own body. It took a few moments for him to maintain a steady grip, then he lifted his arms and felt his body beginning to ascend. The initial burst of triumph and achievement was quickly squashed as he reminded himself he had to remain calm and keep his concentration, or he would falter. His determination kept his focus in place, and before he knew it, he was hovering off the edge of the balcony. Reaching out to grab the railing, he climbed over.

"All right, Aqua. Don't make any sudden movements."

The water girl nodded. Crusader gripped the two of them with considerably more ease than Gladiator had done. It was something she'd done hundreds of times, using her mind to move her own body, and it seemed almost effortless to raise their two bodies to the balcony on the top floor. When they got there, Gladiator was approaching the door that led inside the building. Crusader looked through the door to make sure there was nobody waiting just inside. The corridor beyond was clear, and she followed her brother as he pushed the door open and slipped inside.

"Where are we? Where's the admiral?" he asked.

"We'll have to search for him. If he's not here, we'll have to look for evidence of what he's up to."

The younger mutants waited for Crusader to lead the way, but she seemed hesitant. Gary could sense something was bothering her. He could feel it too, whatever it was.

"What – what's the matter?" Aqua whispered.

"I'm not sure," said Crusader. "Something – somewhere inside the building – something is throwing off our telepathy. Gladiator, can you feel it?"

"I think so. What is it?"

"I don't know. It feels like some kind of blanket force."

"Some kind of what?" said Aqua.

"Something that sort of muffles our telepathy and stops it from working. I – I'm trying to pinpoint exactly where it is."

"Do you think it's a trap? Do you think they know we're here?" asked Gladiator.

"I doubt it. I don't think it would be enough to trap us on its own. Let's try and find out what's causing the effect. I have a suspicion that…"

She didn't say what, and he prompted, "A suspicion that…?"

"That there's more here than meets the eye. I think this admiral is guilty of more than just stealing a few thousand dollars from the Navy's research budget. I think he's involved in something bigger. I think that's only part of it."

"How do you know that?"

"The guy with the poison tooth for one thing. He died to protect a secret, something that must have been of immense importance if he was willing to kill himself to preserve it. Secondly, the fact that there are no newspaper reports regarding the death or even disappearance of Marina's family. Admiral McKenzie couldn't have arranged a media blackout by himself."

"So what's your explanation?"

"I don't know. He must have some connections in the media. Maybe he's selling Navy secrets to terrorists or a foreign power…that might explain the secrecy…"

"Terrorists…" said Gladiator thoughtfully. "Hey, something just occurred to me. You remember Cyclops and Wolverine and the rest were out investigating terrorist activity. They think, or some of them do, that there's some hidden force controlling the terrorists. I can read their minds enough to tell that."

"You think there's a connection?" said Crusader. "Between this 'hidden force' and our admiral's secretive activities?"

"Could be."

"C – could the admiral be stealing supplies, then – then selling them on the black market to these terror groups?" Aqua suggested. "The ones who are – who are carrying out these attacks?"

"It's possible," Crusader said. "But even then, I think there's still more to it. There's something…something we're just not seeing at all. I remember about a week ago, my dad was trying to teach me how to use Cerebro. When I used the machine and projected my mind across the world, I couldn't shake the feeling that there was some kind of – of _presence_…something waiting, something lurking…I don't know. Maybe I imagined it. At first I put it down to my inexperience with the machine, but now I'm not so sure…"

"Wouldn't Dad have sensed something like that too, when he used it?"

"Probably. That's another reason why I dismissed it. You haven't used the machine yet, have you?"

"No. Dad wanted to wait until I had more experience using our telepathy."

The older girl sighed, "Maybe it's nothing. Maybe I imagined a threat where there wasn't one. Maybe Dad's paranoia is rubbing off on me."

"Yeah," said Gladiator. "Let's just think about what we're here for, and worry about the rest later."

"Right. McKenzie must have an office or a study somewhere, where we can find evidence of his illegal dealings. If we can't find the man himself, that's what we'll search for."

"What about this telepathy-blocking thing – whatever it is?"

"If we start feeling any worse because of it, we can try and find what's causing it, and shut it down. That can be our second priority. I know the military have done research before into something called a 'neural inhibitor' – that could be what we're dealing with here."

"Maybe it's one of the things the admiral stole from his research projects," Aqua ventured. "Maybe he's storing it here."

"Yes…that would explain it…" Crusader touched the younger girl's arm and said softly. "Listen. I know he killed your family, but we need to find out what he knows. If you find him, don't kill him. He murdered your family to protect his secret. If we can't expose it, your family will have died for nothing."

Aqua nodded, "I – I know. Don't worry."

"Let's go."

-

-

-

Shapeshifter and Shock were in Edinburgh, the city where Chris had grown up and spent his first fourteen years. They were heading for the north edge of the city, close to the shipyards, for a rendezvous with a person Chris hadn't met since he was a teenager.

"Remind me again who we're going to see," said Fliss.

"My cousin."

"The one who's a gangster?" she asked in a disapproving tone. "Why him?"

"Because he knows a lot of people in Edinburgh's criminal underworld. If somebody's going to try some major crime in the city, he'll know about it."

"So you think he might know about the terrorists?"

"I'm hoping so. It's the only lead we have to go on."

As they passed a newsagent, Felicity glanced at the headlines of the papers. **Vatican bombing the work of mutants**, she read, **wounded Pope calls for world-wide mutant sanctions. **Sanctions? What might those be? Intrigued, Fliss reached into her pocket for some money to buy the newspaper, when she realised Chris was already holding one, reading the front pages.

"Where'd you get that?"

"Swiped it from a news stand down the street," he replied without looking up.

She was too curious about the newspaper article to begin reprimanding him for stealing. Fliss moved behind Chris and read over his shoulder: **During a speech in which he described mutants as "an abomination that has no place on God's earth", the Pope demanded that the mutants responsible for this latest terrorist atrocity must not be allowed to go unpunished. "We must identify and monitor these creatures to ensure that nothing like this can ever happen again," the leader of the Catholic church added, "For too long mutants have been allowed too much freedom, and this is the result. There is no reasoning with these people, whose only goal is to destroy God's greatest creation: the human race"**. The article went on to say: **In the last two days, serious terrorist incidents were thwarted by the bravery and initiative of security forces in New York City and in London. The presence of mutants at the scene of both attacks was confirmed by security chiefs, who are actively pursuing the ones responsible**.

"That can't be right," said Felicity, looking confused. "I thought the authorities captured those Middle Eastern terrorists back home, and those IRA guys in London. How can they blame these attacks on mutants?"

Chris sighed, "Fliss, you're being naïve. Newspapers don't let the truth get in the way of a good piece of sensation about mutants. This is just typical media hysteria, and the public are being caught up in it."

"I'm worried about what the Pope said. He's a very influential figure and a lot of people will listen to him. If the situation stays the way it is, or gets worse, chaos could ensue. Whoever's launching these attacks – do you think they're doing it to deliberately incriminate our kind?"

"Keep your voice down," he hissed. "We don't want to advertise what we are around here."

"Why do you think they're doing it?" she asked again.

"Scott and some of the others think it's Magneto. Logan thinks it's Pyro. I'm not sure what to think. Even if one of those two wanted to start a new war with the humans, this isn't the way they would do it. All we're facing at the moment is one almighty backlash against mutants. I don't see what they would hope to gain from that."

"Maybe it's some human who hates us and thinks this is a good way to try and destroy us," she suggested.

"Maybe. Come on, we'd better keep moving. We're due to meet my cousin in half an hour."

As they walked along the streets of the area Chris had once called home, he found his thoughts drifting away from the present, back into his troubled childhood. He remembered running down these streets, running from the pursuing police, desperate to escape with whatever he was carrying. Usually it was food he had stolen from the supermarket, food that his family was too poor to buy, food that they needed to keep his baby sister from starving. Well, his half-sister anyway. His father had disappeared years before she'd been born. Her father could have been any one of three or four friends his mother had had at that point. Eventually Chris had left home and gone to America to join Xavier's school. Without him it was one less mouth to feed, and he had lost touch altogether with his family. He had no real regrets. He'd never felt at all comfortable at home, always feeling as if he was the odd one out. This was even before he'd discovered he was a mutant. Maybe it was because he wasn't quite as ready as the others to take up serious crime as a living.

-

His cousin met them in an old, dirty apartment building, which smelled of cheap alcohol and cigarettes. Fliss wrinkled up her nose with distaste the moment they entered, but tried hard to keep her discomfort from showing on her face. She guessed Chris had probably grown up in a place like this. She tried equally hard to ignore the lecherous stares she was getting from Chris' cousin's friends, who sat playing cards in the corner, at least one of them unconscious through alcohol overdose. His cousin took Chris aside to talk in private.

"Haven't seen _you_ for a while," he said, a hint of accusation in his tone.

"I've been busy," Chris replied.

"Yeah, I bet you have. With her?" jerking his thumb towards Fliss.

Chris ignored the jibe, "Are you still selling drugs to school children?"

"Fucking hell, no. I'm not a fucking monster, Chris."

"Yeah, you're just a good, honest criminal."

The man lit a cigarette, "You didn't come here to insult me, I hope. What do you need?"

"You know just about everything that's going on in Edinburgh. Is there anything planned for the next few days?"

"Like what? Most people I know are lying low for the moment. The fucking pigs discovered a big cache of drugs and they're turning up the heat on everyone."

"I'm thinking more along the lines of a bombing…"

"Ah…now I see what you're after. You want a piece of these mutant bastards as well, eh? You must have heard the rumour the next terror attack will be in Edinburgh."

Chris remembered that he'd never told his cousin he was a mutant. He'd been afraid the man would force him to use his power for criminal purposes. It would be a good idea not to tell him now.

"Take my advice, mate," said his cousin. "Leave this one to the pigs. I'd much rather see them get killed by the mutants than see my little cousin getting hurt."

"How do you know mutants are responsible?"

"Oh, come on, Chris! Everybody knows that. Mutants just kill for fun! That Plague that was spreading round the world, that was started by mutants. Did you know that?"

Chris had helped stop the Plague, but he didn't say that, "No."

"It never reached Europe, thank God, but it killed a lot of people over in the Americas. They say the mutants spread the virus to wipe out everyone else. Some doctor discovered a cure and distributed it just in time."

"I'd still appreciate any information you can give me about any bombings planned. I'm working for a newspaper," Chris lied as easily as he had done in his early years. "I'm looking for, you know, first exclusive if anything happens over here, if they catch whoever's responsible."

"Ah…well, if you're hoping for a story I'll help you out. I know a guy who sold a whole bunch of explosives recently. His name's Horne. Here's where you'll find him," he scribbled down an address and handed it to Chris. "Have a look around his place if you want, if you can get inside. You might find something that'll help you."

"OK. Thanks."

He turned to go, but his cousin had a hand on his arm, "Chris…don't let anyone know I told you this. If people find out I grassed up on Horne, even to the press, my name will be shit all over the city. I only told you 'cause you're family."

"I hear you. This conversation never happened."

"And be careful. If Horne's men catch you, I can promise you it won't be much fun. I won't be able to help you either."

"Don't worry about me. Thanks again."

His cousin grinned, nodding his head towards Felicity and lowering his voice, "She married?"

Chris laughed, "Nope, and she's way out of your league, mate."

They left the apartment, Fliss only too glad to get away, and began to head back towards the city centre.

"What did you find out?" she asked.

Chris pulled out the piece of paper his cousin had given him, "Apparently this is the address of a guy who sold a large amount of explosive recently."

"To the terrorists?"

"Seems likely. Let's go and check this place out, see if we can find anything that leads us to the terrorists."

-

-

-

Logan and Scott were in Toronto, also looking for any possible clues that might pinpoint the next terrorist target. According to Scott's records, the previous terrorist attack on this city had taken place at one of the larger train stations, so they'd gone there first. Logan was trying to remember at what point during proceedings it had been decided that he would partner Cyclops, and why he hadn't argued against it more strongly. Obviously he didn't _hate_ Scott – he liked him more than he liked, say, Pyro or Gladiator – but they simply didn't see eye to eye on anything. It was actually something of a miracle that they'd spent this much time in each other's company without breaking into an argument and separating to search for the terrorists alone. He glanced at Scott's visor and thought: _boy, could he make that thing any **less** inconspicuous? I might as well be strolling down the road with my claws out and Sabretooth's dead body slung over my shoulders._

"The problem is we don't even know what form the attack will take," Scott was saying. "We don't know whether a bomb has already been planted and just needs to be triggered, or if the terrorists will bring the bomb with them when they attack. We don't know whether we should be searching for a bomb, or trying to work out what their most likely approach will be."

"What did they do last time? Aren't your records meticulous enough to tell us?"

"Unfortunately not."

"Well, we could split up and do both," said Logan hopefully.

Scott said dryly, "As much as I'd like to, I think it would be best to stay together in case of an emergency. It's obvious that somebody is out there, directing these attacks, and we don't know what it is they're trying to do. Until we do, I think it's best to take every precaution we can."

"So you don't think Pyro's responsible?"

"No. It seems too obvious. It doesn't seem like his style either."

"What style? He doesn't have any style. You know, I still don't understand why we're allowing him to walk freely around the mansion instead of putting him in a cell where he belongs."

"Well, we do have an agreement with them."

"He's dangerous. He'll go after the humans again if he's given a chance. He's more dangerous than you seem to realise. Why do you let him live with us?"

"For his students' sake more than anything else. They have to be given the chance to see things from our point of view. The only way that can happen is if we maintain the peace between ourselves and Pyro. It's fragile, but it lasts. And I'd rather have him where we can keep an eye on him, wouldn't you?"

"No, I'd rather have him in a jail cell and throw away the key. And you're wasting your time on his kids. He's had them under his thumb for so long that they can't listen to anybody else. Worst of all, he's probably going around trying to brainwash _our_ kids into his way of thinking."

"Do you think this hasn't occurred to me? It's not an easy decision I had to make. I'm having to make a lot of difficult decisions. If you actually took time to consider that, instead of just moaning all the time, we probably wouldn't need to have these arguments. Now shut up, we've got more important things to worry about right now."

They continued in an icy silence.

-

-

-

"Sir, we're nearly in position. Mutant training facility is in sight."

"Roger, proceed with caution. Remember, eliminate every mutant we find."

Hesitation, then, "Even the children, sir?"

"Every mutant we find."


	11. Chapter Ten: Gaia's Guard

The teenagers had been flicking through the scientific journals for some time now without success. As boredom began to take hold, Vertigo had slouched lower and lower in his chair, his eyelids drooping, until the others couldn't tell whether he was awake or asleep. Atlas had the metal disc in his hand once more, studying it over and over again, unable to keep his mind on reading. Helios was trying to catch Cassandra's eye. She was the only one who was still fully concentrating on what they were supposed to be doing. As important as they knew it was, they were teenagers and it was only natural for their attention to wander at times.

At that moment Vertigo spoke, startling the others, "I think I've got something here."

"What?"

"An article about a research proposal into a metal alloy known as constantium. It – "

He was cut off suddenly as Cassandra jolted upright and cried, "We've got to get the children inside!"

"Cassie?"

"We're going to be attacked! We've got to get the kids to safety! Come on!"

Leaping to her feet she hurried to the exit. Vertigo and Atlas were right behind her. They had learned over the years not to waste time questioning Cassandra when she had a fore-flash. Helios was slightly slower to react, and he tried to catch up with them as they reached the front entrance of the school building.

"Cassandra!" he called. "What's going on?"

"The school's going to be attacked! Get the children inside!"

The four teens hurried out into the gardens, where small groups of children were playing together or relaxing and enjoying the sunshine. Following Cassandra's lead, the three guys began calling the children to come back inside. Some of the kids didn't want to, but most of them recognised the urgency in the teenagers' voices and soon the youngsters were being herded towards the mansion. Not a moment too soon, for they could begin to make out the noise of approaching helicopter blades.

"Look!" Helios yelled.

Over the trees to the south they could see three black specks in the sky that gradually became helicopters aiming straight for the school.

"Get the kids inside!" Cassandra shrieked, frantically running to grab one little boy who'd wandered away.

"Where are we taking them?" Atlas asked nervously.

"Take them down underground," Helios suggested. "They'll be safest down there."

Vertigo nodded his agreement, "Cassie, Atlas, do it. Helios, we'll try and hold them off."

As Cassandra and Atlas directed the last of the children inside the building, Vertigo called after them, "Find Gladiator and Crusader! We need them!"

"They're not here!"

"_What_?"

Cassandra responded, "They left ages ago and took the whore with them!"

"Where are the X-Men? Pyro?"

"They're gone too!"

The helicopters were coming into land at the bottom of the open space in the gardens. Already ropes were being thrown out the sides and men making their way down to the ground.

"_Shit_!" Vertigo snapped. "All right, find anyone you can who's over the age of 14. Get them out here. Hurry!"

-

-

-

Gaia had been outside in the gardens when she first heard the sound of the choppers approaching. She'd been in the woods, looking for something she had little real hope of finding. One of her snakes had laid a batch of eggs, but refused to tell Chloe where they were. Chloe was determined to find the eggs, to make sure they were in no danger from predators. As she heard the helicopters and turned round to see them landing in the grounds of the mansion, her thoughts instantly shifted to predators of another kind. Some kind of instinct told her that all was not well. As fully armed men began to emerge from the choppers, she began running towards the school. What was going on here? It was clear what the men's intention was. Why were these people attacking the school? Had somebody decided to invade because the terrorist attacks were being blamed on mutants? She didn't know. She could it give no thought right now; her priority was to ensure the safety of the kids. The young children were being hurried inside by some of the older students. Chloe made as if to run after them, but then she had a better idea.

-

-

-

Vertigo crouched in the scant cover provided by one of Atlas' flowering shrubs, and waited for Helios to act. The humans, whoever they were, were approaching steadily, moving in groups of three, confident but cautious at the same time, covering themselves from surprise attacks. Obviously they knew there were mutants here, and they were prepared for the unusual to strike. None of them was however prepared for Helios to suddenly appear in the open front entrance, his hand shining blinding light into their eyes. As the soldiers gasped, instinctively turning away and closing their eyes, Vertigo moved. Heading straight for the nearest trio of attackers, he chopped one of them in the side of the neck, spinning to kick another one to the ground, then punching the third man in the throat. Stunned, blinded, choking, the men stumbled backwards in shock. Vertigo was already diving for cover as bullets began to kiss the ground around him.

He chanced a glance out to see what the men were doing. Shit. Most of them had produced protective sunglasses from inside their packs. Helios' power would not be so effective this time. There were too many of them anyway. Vertigo had no idea what he was going to do. The two of them couldn't defend the school for long. Maybe he shouldn't have sent Atlas inside; the earth mutant's power would probably be useful now. Where the hell were the X-Men? Where were Gladiator and his sister? Had the attackers deliberately waited until they'd all left, or had they simply been lucky? He caught Helios' eye and yelled, "Again!"

"No way, man, they'll kill you!"

"Better me than the children! Do it!"

"No, wait, something's happening!"

Vertigo snuck another look at the approaching men. Strange. A large number of them had broken off and were heading for the woods. Had they seen something? He didn't know. All he knew was that the odds against him were no longer quite so heavy.

-

-

-

"Dallas, report."

"Nothing here, sir. I don't understand. The animals were going crazy. I thought there had to be a forest fire or something."

"Forget the woods. There's nothing out there. The mutants are inside the mansion. I've sent men around the back to cut off their escape. I want you to lead the first group inside."

"Yes sir, on my way."

Dallas picked his way carefully over the grounds, stepping over objects dropped by the mutants in their hurry to get inside. Here a basketball, here a colouring book…it was quite compelling to think of these mutants as being nothing more than innocent children. But he knew that wasn't the case. They were murderers, every one of them. Why else were they launching these terrorists attacks?

"Payback time, you bastards," he muttered to himself, as he checked his gear prior to entering the building.

There had been a couple of the freaks in the garden, who'd stunned some of his men, but they'd fled inside the building and there hadn't been any sign of them since. Dallas directed four of his best men to accompany him on the initial charge inside. The cold fingers of apprehension tickled their way down his spine as he approached the entrance. There were all sorts of rumours about mutants. Who could guess what sort of abilities the freaks in this place had? Dallas forced his fears aside. He wasn't afraid of the freaks. He was prepared for anything.

He kicked the front door open. Half-tensing himself against an immediate attack, he was both relieved and suspicious to see the hallway beyond completely empty. If it had been him defending the building, he'd have hit the invaders once as they opened the door, then run for cover. Huh. Maybe the mutants weren't all that smart. He indicated two of his men to go to the right, and two more to go to the left. He himself continued down the main hallway. Once they'd secured the areas immediately accessible from the entrance, he'd send the signal that it was safe to enter.

He saw movement. Up ahead was a mutant! She turned and hurried through the nearest doorway as he raised his weapon. Dallas hurried forward in pursuit. Following her through the door, he found the freak inside the room beyond, standing by the far wall. There were animals in water tanks and cages around the room. There were no other exits apart from the window, but she didn't have enough time to get there. A predatory smile crossed his face. The first dead mutant was his. Ought to be worth a few bucks in the way of a bonus…

"Any last words, freak?" he smirked as he raised his rifle to aim at her head.

An odd sort of smile was on her face, "You might want to look behind you…"

He laughed, "Oldest trick in the book, freak. You must think humans are pretty fucking dumb."

Had the man turned around, he might have seen the baby cobra as it sprang from the shelf above his head, its tiny hood spreading as it landed on his neck, its long venomous fangs sinking into his flesh. He screamed, dropped to his knees, then slumped to his side, convulsed for a few moments, and eventually lay dead.

Chloe hurried forward and gently picked up the infant serpent, stroking the back of its head, "Thank you. You saved my life."

The cobra slithered up her arm to rest on her shoulder, ready to protect her again if necessary. Chloe spoke quietly to the rest of the animals in her room, "I need your help. I need all of you to help me protect the children."

-

-

-

The two men who'd taken the right hand fork stopped when they heard their leader scream.

"Shit, a mutant got him!"

"Quick, we'd better go help him!"

"No, no, we have to secure this area. Call for reinforcements."

"But he might be dead by the time they get here!"

"We can't go against protocol!"

The two men were so busy arguing, neither of them spotted the black widow spider as it crawled across the floor towards them. Climbing on to the leg of one man, it searched for an area of unprotected flesh and sunk its jaws into his skin.

"Ow! What the fuck – "

The man stumbled, and the spider was already heading for his compatriot. Neither man ever knew what killed them, as the silent black arachnid administered another deadly poisonous bite. From around the corner Chloe came running, stepping over the dead men, kneeling down to let the spider crawl into her hand. From there it scuttled up her arm to sit on her other shoulder. Chloe was beginning to worry now. Where were the children? She hadn't seen any sign of them since hurrying into the mansion through one of the secret doors. She could only hope that Helios and the Brotherhood teenagers had taken the youngsters somewhere safe. Chloe thought quickly: what to do next? Oculus was still downstairs using Cerebro, and there was no way to get his attention until he disconnected his mind from the machine. Should she stay here and try to hold a position, or look everywhere until she found the children?

Gaia looked over her shoulder as she heard a buzzing sound, and then a smile crossed her face. Some of her friends from the forest had caught up with her.

-

-

-

Outside, the man known as Nine was growing impatient. He barked into his radio, "Dallas! Where the hell are you?"

There was no response. Angrily he signalled another group of men, "Go inside and see what's become of him. Be careful – we have no idea what these freaks are capable of. Report back the moment you see anything out of the ordinary."

As the men hurried inside, he was beginning to wonder if he hadn't underestimated the mutants. He'd assumed they were just schoolteachers. Could there be more to them than that? Was this actually some kind of facility for training mutants to kill? No. Mutants didn't need to be trained to kill. They were born with it. It was all the scum knew how to do.

"Sir?" came the voice of one of his searchers over the radio.

He grabbed it, "What can you tell me?"

"Dallas is dead, sir. So're the others."

"What happened?"

"Looks like a snake got him…I don't get it, sir."

"What about the others?"

"Poisoned, I think. Two of them had their throats cut. Sir, I'm not sure if I like – hey, what the _hell_?! No, _no-o-o _– "

There was a buzzing sound that gradually grew louder, the sound of gunfire, then loud, terrified screams, and the man known as Nine knew that his search party was dead.

-

-

-

Gaia stepped unharmed through the swarm of furious hornets, some of whom continued to sting the bodies of the men who were already dead. Gently she cupped her hands around the leader of the swarm, and spoke words of thanks. The baby cobra on her shoulder watched the insects apprehensively. The black widow spider sitting on her other shoulder stirred restlessly. The hornets formed into a protective formation around her.

Chloe had always felt completely at ease with even the deadliest creatures in the world. This was partly because she had some control over animals, but also because her power enabled her to understand the way God's other creations thought. People always feared what they didn't understand. Chloe understood exactly why animals did what they did, so had no reason to fear them. It was like fearing foreigners; once you understood their culture you didn't have a problem. Animals were no different. Most of them just wanted to be left alone. Very few if any creatures actually sought to hurt humans.

She looked up as she realised one of the stung men was staggering to his feet in agony. He was still alive, and desperately shambling towards the exit. His clothing was in tatters from multiple hornet stings and he was leaving a thick trail of blood in his wake, but nevertheless he was still walking. The hornets began to swarm after him, but Chloe called them back, "No, no…let him go. Maybe if the ones outside see what's waiting for them, they'll leave us alone."

Naivete and optimism were also among Chloe's notable personality traits. As the small wolf cub, which had slit the throats of two other unwary attackers, scampered out nervously towards her, she knelt down to stroke its fur and whisper reassurance into its ears. The cub had lost its mother to human hunters, and Chloe had adopted it the moment she found it cowering helplessly beside its mother's dead body. She had adopted the baby cobra after rescuing it from an animal research group. The black widow and the hornets were native to the area, and she'd found them on two of her many explorations of the surrounding woodlands. She remembered how alarmed Scott and Ororo had been at the prospect of these deadly creatures loose inside the school, but Chloe had insisted the animals would harm nobody. What if she were to lose control of them, they had asked. It would be no more dangerous than a stray optic blast or lightning strike that either of them were to lose control of, Chloe had countered.

Control. That was probably the one thing above all they tried to impress upon the children. How to control their powers, how to control their feelings, how to keep themselves in control and to act responsibly. Mutations were dangerous and often unstable, and that was why most people didn't trust those who possessed them. If only humans could trust mutants to use their powers responsibly, then there would be no discord. If only all mutants could be brought together to believe in peace with the rest of humanity. If only people like Stryker and Magneto could not infect people with their hatred. If only evil had no place in the world. Chloe sighed. As much as she believed in peace, she knew she had no choice but to do what she was doing now: to kill the invaders to keep the children safe. She had to find out where the kids were. Surrounded by her personal guard, Chloe began hurrying deeper into the mansion, looking for some sign that the children had come this way.

-

-

-

The man known as Nine was alerted as the half-dead member of his search party came groaning and staggering out of the front entrance to the mansion. Two others ran to support him, and Nine moved forward.

"What happened?" he demanded.

"Hornets…" was all the man could moan through blood-caked lips.

"What?"

"Hornets…and – and a woman…"

"A woman?"

"She's in there…a mutant…she calls the animals and they obey her…hornets…"

He mumbled something else incomprehensible before choking up blood and dying in the arms of the men who were holding him upright. Nine's anger rose, "All right, everyone get ready. We're going in. We've all got anti-venom serum, so use it. Remember, normal bounty rules apply for these freaks."

-

-

-

The situation on the underground floor of the mansion was one of growing panic. As hard as Cassandra tried to keep the children calm, to get them to think of this as a kind of hide and seek game, the fear that she and the others were feeling had to be spreading. Some youngsters were crying, and some were pleading to go back upstairs.

"What are we gonna _do_?" an agitated Atlas demanded.

Vertigo was the only one with the necessary self-control to keep his anxiety from showing on his face. Whether for this reason or some other, everybody was looking to him as a leader. He turned to Helios, "We've put the elevator out of commission so they can't use it. Is there any other way to get out of here?"

"Only the tunnel you guys dug in here, but it's been filled in. We haven't got around to replacing the adamantium shield yet."

"I could open it up again," Atlas suggested.

Vertigo nodded, "Do it. We'll sneak out behind the humans and kill them unawares. Helios, you stay here and guard our retreat if we need it. Cassie can stay with the kids; she's doing a good job."

He could see that the children trusted Cassandra in a way that they didn't extend to any of the other teens. He wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because she was a girl and had strong maternal instincts. Most of the kids had had to grow up without the love of a maternal figure, and maybe Cassandra was a substitute for many of them. He didn't have any time to think about it right now. Atlas had already hurried over to where the end of Mole's tunnel had once been, and was using his power to disturb the filled-in earth and open up the passageway once more.

"Vertigo!"

He turned to see Cassandra tugging on his arm, a look of horror crossing her face, as she hissed urgently, "Vertigo, Acceleratus isn't here!"

"She's not?"

"No! And I think two other kids are missing as well! I can't find Turtle or Phobia!"

"Where are they?"

"We must have lost them upstairs! I'm going back up to get them!"

She hurried towards the elevator, but Vertigo got there first and held her back, "No, you stay down here with the rest of the kids and keep them from panicking. I'll go up."

"I'm going with you," said Helios.

"Right. Atlas, keep working on the tunnel."

"Be careful!" Cassandra implored them. "Please find Accel before anything can happen to her!"

"We will. Don't worry."

Vertigo reconnected the power circuits to the elevator, then he and Helios stepped inside. Just a minute ago, going back up into the mansion had been the last thing on Earth either of them wanted to do. It would have been an insane and suicidal venture – it still was – but now they knew they had no other choice. Three of the smallest children were still up there, and there was no alternative but to go up and look for them.

-

-

-

Nine was furious. He was used to planning strikes like this to perfection, anticipating every possible reaction and any potential problems, and coming up with responses to each. He was used to knowing the exact strengths of his own force and the opposing force, and how to utilise his strengths and their weaknesses. He was used to enemies who had the same limitations he had. In short, he was not used to fighting mutants. He'd assumed the number of mutants inside the building was small, otherwise they would be out here driving him off. He had expected that a large massed attacking force from front and rear would be able to overwhelm the freaks inside, no matter what powers they might have. Things did not start well. His advance party hadn't even reached the building before they were attacked by a group of swooping birds – ravens or crows, he couldn't tell which – snapping and pecking at them. At least three men were blinded as a result, stumbling about in agony with their hands covering their eyes, blood pouring through the gaps between their fingers. It was now obvious that the freaks had to be controlling these animals and using them for defence. Nine was again angry and uncertain. He had plenty of experience hunting animals, but not animals being instructed by human minds. He had no idea how to react to this situation. He could not believe he was being outthought and slowly worn down through losses by a bunch of schoolteachers.

_Dammit_, he thought, _I'm supposed to be the best there is. That's the reason why One recruited me in the first place. That's why I left the Special Forces to set up my own mercenary unit. This can't be happening_!

He resisted the urge to order another all-out attack. He had to think clearly. He couldn't react in anger. That would get him and the others killed. That was the mistake he had made before.

"Rogers, go get the heavy weaponry from Chopper Two."

"Yessir!"

Rogers and two other men hurried across the gardens of the estate, to where the three military-class transport helicopters were slowly rotating their blades, ready to take off again at a moment's notice. The heavy weaponry, the stuff they'd brought but hadn't expected they would need to use, was in the second chopper. The three men manhandled the two crates out on to the ground, and opened them up. The other two men picked up the chain-guns. Rogers let a smirk cross his face as he grabbed hold of a flamethrower. It was time for some serious payback.


	12. Chapter Eleven: The Kids Strike Back

"Accel, what are we gonna do?" the smallest of the three lost children spoke in a terrified whisper.

Seven year old Acceleratus thought desperately. It was only her pride and her determination that were forcing her to keep a cool head and not simply give into the panic that was overwhelming all three of them. She and her friends had somehow taken a wrong turn when they were being hurried inside the school. She didn't know how far away they'd run from the others, but they'd suddenly turned round to find themselves alone inside the mansion.

"_Accel_," the smaller girl repeated plaintively. "What are we gonna _do_?"

On finding themselves alone, the three children had immediately hurried to the elevator. It was what they'd been told to do in the event of danger: head for the underground levels and wait for somebody to come and reassure them everything was OK. None of them had ever been down on the lower levels before, and to their horror they found the elevator wasn't working and wouldn't respond to the call button. Then they'd heard the sounds of screams from near the entrance, and had run deeper into the school.

"You can use your power to scare them off," Accel suggested.

The other girl shook her head helplessly, "No, no, I can't control my power! I just go dizzy and it happens by itself!"

"OK, well…" Acceleratus turned to the boy, "Turtle, I've got an idea. If anyone tries to, you know, _get_ us – "

She didn't want to say the word 'kill'. Pointing to the smaller girl, she finished, " – grab Phobia and use your shell."

"What about you?" the boy asked.

"I'll run for help."

"Look!" the smaller girl screamed, pointing back the way they'd just come.

The two mercenaries at the end of the corridor heard the scream, and instantly saw the three terrified children huddled together.

"Sir, three mutants spotted," one of them spoke into his communicator.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" came Nine's angry voice. "Kill them!"

"But sir, they're just kids! They're no older than – "

"They're mutants, damn it! Kill them!"

"Phoebe, come here!" the boy cried.

The two mercenaries raised their weapons and aimed at the children. Grabbing the smaller girl, the boy named Turtle shut his eyes, took a deep breath and tightened his muscles. A small bony growth at the back of his neck exploded outwards and began to curve and expand around his body. He turned his back on the two men and bullets riddled into the surface of the protective shell that was still forming around him. Within seconds the shell had grown and curved into an impenetrable cocoon around his entire body, surrounding both him and little Phobia held tightly in his arms.

Acceleratus was left facing the two mercenaries. Both approached her, aiming their weapons directly at her heart, but the small girl stood her ground, looking at them defiantly. _Never show fear_, Pyro had taught her_, that makes your enemies feel strong_.

"You got some guts, kid," one of them said admiringly.

"I don't need a gun to make me feel brave," Accel snapped.

The men laughed, and she took advantage of the distraction. From a standing start it took her less than a second to accelerate around the corner and away from them. The two mercs considered giving chase, but it was obvious they couldn't catch her. On the floor in front of them lay the mutant shell that surrounded the two other baby freaks. They began to fire at the shell until their weapons' magazines were exhausted. Reloading by pure instinct, they spoke to their comms again.

"Sir, one of the mutants has some kind of shell around him. Our bullets can't penetrate."

A second passed, then the reply, "Keep it busy. Rogers is bringing the flamethrower to you."

"It isn't going anywhere, sir."

Inside the shell, the two children held on to each other frantically.

"What's happening outside?" Phoebe whispered.

Turtle said nothing. He had no way of knowing. Surrounding one's body with an impenetrable shell had two obvious drawbacks: no sound and no air could get through. He knew he could only keep this up as long as they had oxygen. He knew that when his air ran out he'd just have to open the shell and hope that they would be safe. There was no way to tell what was going on outside.

-

Acceleratus ran on, desperately seeking an adult or even one of the teenagers, somebody who could protect her and her friends. They hadn't found anyone on the ground floor. Maybe somebody was upstairs. Accel hurried towards the staircase that would take her to the first floor. As she passed an intersection she heard a shout and bullets began to spit through the air towards her. Glancing behind her, she saw three more men running in her wake. Why were they moving so slowly? Why were the bullets moving so slowly? Acceleratus was too young to understand that their speed was only relative to her own, as she blitzed her way onwards. She was beginning to tire now. She hadn't been running that long, but she had been accelerating furiously all the time and her small body was beginning to feel the effects.

Scorching up the stairs with incalculable speed, she forced her exhausted form to keep going. She had to find somewhere to hide and get her breath back before continuing her search for the adults. Reaching the first floor and hurtling round the corner, she felt a hand grab her by the shoulder and pull her back. Acceleratus screamed.

"Be quiet!" Chronos snapped. "What are you yelling for?"

"They're gonna kill me!" she wailed, pointing down the stairs. "Help me!"

"All right. Hold on."

One moment Accel was clutching the older boy, looking back in terror at the approaching men. The next moment she was back on the ground floor, just in time to see Turtle's shell opening, he and Phobia gasping for breath.

"What _happened_?" Accel asked in bewilderment.

Chronos didn't have time to explain time displacement. Nor did he have time to try and decide what was going on. It seemed clear enough. He knew now this was a school for mutants. It seemed obvious that humans would resent such an establishment. They would be afraid of the mutants setting up their own elite ruling class, as it should be. It made sense that the humans would attack the school. Chronos wondered if this happened often.

"What are we gonna do?" one of the little ones asked him.

Chronos had no idea what to do. He was unprepared for the attack and he had no idea of the scale of the invasion. He could use his powers, but he wanted to get a better idea of what he was facing. One of the little kids gripped his hand in fear, but he shook her loose. He had no time for children now. It seemed he was fighting for his life. He wondered if he could conveniently lose these children somewhere, and take the fight to the humans…

"Accel!" came a voice from behind him.

Chronos turned. At the end of the corridor another two teens stood, one of them kneeling down to open his arms. The little girls hurried over to hug him, equal measures of relief and fear pouring out of them. The older one wailed, "Vertigo, what's _happening_?"

"Tell you later, honey. Helios, take them back downstairs. You," he pointed at Chronos, "go with them."

Chronos bristled. He wasn't taking orders from some random guy his own age!

"What's happening?" he demanded. "How many are there?"

They heard the footsteps of men approaching, and Vertigo snapped, "We don't have time to stand around and talk! All of you go!"

"What are you gonna do?" Helios asked.

"I'm gonna make Pyro proud. Go!"

Stepping over the bodies of the two men Vertigo had knocked unconscious, Dominic led Chronos and the little children back to the elevator. Vertigo turned, facing the sound of approaching mercs, and flexed his arms, "Come on then, inferior life forms."

Fear was driving the mercenaries on a little faster than they would have liked. Fear of the unknown, fear of whatever myriad mutant powers might be awaiting them inside the mansion, fear of possibly meeting an enemy they couldn't match. Seeing two mutant kids disappear in front of their eyes had made then even more uneasy, and now they hurried downstairs with ill-advised haste. Seeing Vertigo, they immediately dropped into firing positions and began to spray the corridor with bullets. Vertigo tensed his muscles. He'd expected this and was already running, jumping towards the wall, planting his feet on the wooden panelled surface and springing up and over the three men. His super-light body structure made a seemingly impossible manoeuvre seem all so easy. The three men reacted in shock as he flipped through the air above them, wrapping his leg around one man's neck, gripping and twisting with his wiry muscles, snapping the mercenary's neck as if it was a twig. Landing on his splayed hands, Vertigo pushed away from the ground and kicked out at the two remaining men, throwing them to the side. One was stunned momentarily, but the other thrust his weapon towards the mutant and fired. Vertigo twisted in mid-air to avoid the hail of bullets, and was forced to land a little less gracefully than he would have liked. The merc swore as his gun's magazine emptied, and he reached for a fresh one. The ninja mutant kicked the weapon out of his hands and drove a knee into the man's throat, crushing his windpipe and killing him instantly.

"Reinforcements!" the remaining merc screamed into his communicator as he scrambled desperately to reclaim his weapon.

From around the corner another group of men came running. Two held ordinary rifles but to Vertigo's dismay he saw the third holding on to a flame thrower.

"Torch it!" yelled the man he'd just been grappling with, who dived to the side, out of the path of the onrushing flamer.

A cloud of fire leapt from the nozzle of the flamethrower towards Vertigo. Leaping backwards and somersaulting over in mid-air, he just managed to avoid the licking flames. Landing on his feet, facing the other way, he fled. He didn't know where he was going but if he could draw the men away from the elevator then the children would be safe. Glancing behind him, he was surprised to see the men weren't following him. They were being attacked from the other side. A cloud of bees – or were they hornets? – was surrounding them, stinging mercilessly, and the men's agonised screams were only partially drowned out by the buzzing of the furious insects.

The man with the flamethrower turned and scorched the cloud of hornets, killing several and forcing the rest to back away. His three compatriots lying dead from the stings they had received to, the man took the only option available to him: he fled. Vertigo waited for the hornets to pursue, but they continued to pull back until they were out of sight. He wondered why, but he didn't have any time to worry about that now. For the man with the flamethrower was coming directly at him.

-

-

-

Helios swore under his breath. The mercenaries had found the elevator. Motioning the children to silence, he glanced cautiously around the corner. Two or three men with rifles in camouflage gear appeared to be investigating why the elevator wasn't working. Cassandra must have pulled its circuits apart again. This was a problem. Even if the men were to leave, how could they take the lift back down if it wasn't working? Was there any way they could signal Cassandra? Not from up here. There had to be another way to get down there. Had Atlas finished reopening the tunnel yet? Could they try and get back down that way? That would involve going outside the mansion, past where the invaders were based outside. No, that was far too dangerous a route to take the children on. And besides, he couldn't even remember where the tunnel opening was. There were one or more secret passages that led outside the school, but again, he had no way of knowing whether it was safe to go outside.

Was there somewhere else safe he might take these children? Dominic could think of nowhere. He glanced at them for a second. Tiny Phoebe looked at him with fear in her eyes. Acceleratus seemed uneasy and restless, as if she longed to be moving at high speed away from danger, rather than standing still and inviting it. The boy Turtle was unreadable, though seemed reassured that Dominic was in charge of the situation. The older boy, who Dominic knew only from a couple of glances exchanged, was looking back the way they had come, checking nobody was in pursuit. _Damn it_, Helios thought to himself, _what do I do?_ _If I was on my own I'd make a break for the tunnel. I can't do that with the kids. But at the same we can't just stay here and wait for somebody to find us. Where the hell is everyone? The X-Men, Pyro, the Angels, where are they_? It was Vertigo who had first coined the term Angels to describe Annie and Gary. He had meant it sarcastically, but with their golden eyes and seeming omnipotence, the name had stuck, amongst the younger generation anyway.

Eventually little Phoebe couldn't contain herself any longer, hissing, "Dominic, what are we gonna _do_?"

The men heard. Looking up suspiciously, the two of them wasted no time in moving into covering positions, their rifles held steadily and ready to fire.

"Investigating sound on the ground floor," one of them spoke into his comm. "Elevator seems to be out of commission; recommend you send someone to repair it."

Dominic knew there was no other option but to run. There was nowhere safe to run to, but staying where they were was tantamount to suicide.

"Go," he hissed to Chronos. "Take them. I'll follow you in a second!"

His intention was to blind the mercenaries by shining light into their eyes, then make their escape while the men were dazzled and disoriented. He gently put a hand on Phoebe's shoulder to direct her towards Chronos, but the girl wasn't moving. Her eyes had glazed over and she was bent double, gasping for breath. Her power was activating.

"I'm – I'm going to go dizzy…" she breathed.

Losing consciousness, she slumped against Dominic, who managed to catch hold of her.

"Don't look at her!" he hissed to the others. "Whatever you do, don't look at her!"

The two mercenaries turned the corner. The first man reacted in shock and horror, jumping backwards to avoid the enormous saltwater crocodile that snapped at his heels. He had seen his father eaten by a crocodile when he was four years old, and had lived with a deathly fear of the creatures ever since. This one was twice the size of the one that had killed his father. His scream of terror tore through the air as panic overtook him, his weapon falling to the floor as he scrambled desperately to get away.

The second man's scream reached the same pitch and volume as he saw the headless, unravelling zombie lurching towards him. The undead monster let out an unearthly moan and reached for him. Falling over himself in his urge to escape, the man dropped his pack and his weapon before fleeing down the corridor as if carried by the wind itself. The first man was not far behind him.

Phoebe, aka Phobia, gasped once more and regained consciousness as her power ceased. Exhausted, she could barely stand. Dominic lifted the tiny girl into his arms and hurried towards the elevator. Maybe – it was hoping against hope – but maybe Cassandra had reactivated the power in the few minutes since the men had checked. He hit the call button – but nothing happened.

"What was _that_?" Chronos demanded. "Why'd they run off like that? What did they see?"

Dominic nodded towards Phobia, "She can project a person's worst fear into their mind. That's why I told you not to look at her."

"Well, why didn't she do it sooner?"

"She can't control it. Here, take her. I'm going to try something."

Resenting being used as a baby carrier, Chronos held the small girl while Dominic pulled off his gloves. Dropping them on to the floor, he held up his hand to the lift door. While one of his hands had the ability to reflect sunlight, the other acted like a solar cell, absorbing the light and storing it for later use. A beam of light shone out from his palm, and he curved his hand inwards until the light had intensified into a thin ray. A crackling sound came as the focussed light became a laser, which began to cut through the door. Hopefully if he could get the door open, he could shout down the lift shaft to Cassandra. Hopefully she would hear him.

"Keep your eyes open in case anyone's coming," he said to Chronos.

The light beam continued to cut into the door.

-

-

-

The three military class helicopters were the first thing that caught Pyro's attention as he and Gemini walked back up the path that led into the estate. At first he was unsure what to think, then the sound of a scream in the distance left him in little doubt what was going on. His daughter looked at him, waiting for an explanation or an instruction telling her what she should do.

"The school is under attack," he said.

"It's _what_?"

"Under attack. It's happened before. You'd think an attack on their own school might make the X-Men see the humans for what they really are. I guess they're still as blind as they ever were."

"What are we gonna do?"

"What we've always done: defend our own kind. Someone has to. Come on."

As they got closer to the choppers, they noticed the pilot sitting in the cockpit of each one, obviously ready for a swift takeoff if that turned out to be necessary. Pyro directed Gemini towards the first helicopter, "Kill that pilot. I'll take the other two."

Igniting his lighter, he stepped closer to the two furthest copters. Twin balls of flame hovered in front of him as he waited for the moment to strike. The pilots were probably armed. He had to hit them before they had a chance to react. Waiting until both humans were looking the other way, he hurried forward, yanked open one of the cockpit doors, and thrust a fireball inside. The man's scream alerted the pilot of the second helicopter, who looked over in surprise and consternation, but Pyro had already launched the second fireball. It hit the man in the face as he thrust open the cockpit and raised his handgun.

Both men having burned to death, Pyro looked over at Gemini. Both of his daughter had dragged the pilot from the third helicopter, and one of them drove her knee into the man's throat. It was a trick Vertigo had taught her, and Pyro unconsciously winced as the man's windpipe was crushed and blood exploded from his mouth. He nodded to Gemini approvingly.

Ahead of them lay the mansion, and they could see that what looked like a mobile command post had been set up in the gardens in front of the building.

"What's going on? Who are these people?" asked the girl.

"Does it matter? All humans want to wipe us out. You know that. I'm only surprised this doesn't happen more often."

"Just tell me what to do."

Gemini's trauma and mental anguish were gone now, swept aside by the shock of what was going on and her survival instinct kicking in. It had always been like this. Once the battle was over and she was safe, then she could retreat inside her mind and try to sort herself out. It was like she was two different people. When fighting she was Gemini: the bold, confident young mutant who could duplicate herself and control both bodies with perfect synchrony. At other times she reverted to being Alexandra: the young girl who'd been sold by her mother, then raped and tortured for two years by human researchers. Sometimes she wondered if she could just leave Alexandra behind and be Gemini always, but now was not the time to be concentrating on that. Right now she was Gemini, and ready to fight for survival against the humans once more.

"Stay close to me," Dad was saying. "We'll get in close; I'll take out as many as I can with a first barrage; then we'll have to look for cover and pick them off one at a time."

"Where is everyone else? Where are the X-Men?"

"Who knows? Probably inside somewhere trying to _understand_ the humans rather than fight them off."

"Where are Cassie and Gladiator?"

Pyro said nothing. He didn't want to voice his fear that his students had probably been caught by surprise, overrun, and killed. Otherwise Gladiator at least would have been out here defending the school. Unless perhaps he'd been talked out of it by the human-loving Crusader, or by that screwed-up water girl. Then Pyro reprimanded myself. _You can't think about her that way. Gemini is messed up too._ Keeping low, running behind cover whenever they could, the two of them began to hurry towards the school, all the time watching carefully for any lookouts or sentries the humans might have posted to watch their backs. There seemed to be none. Presumably that was what the pilots in the choppers had been for. Those three men had died before they could have had a chance to raise the alarm.

When he felt they'd got close enough, he put his hand on his daughter's shoulder and the two of them knelt down behind a piece of architecture. They could just about overhear the humans talking; the sub-creatures were discussing how their next assault on the school would commence. It was time to put a stop to their murderous plans. As he flicked the lighter, Pyro glanced over at Gemini. She was looking back the way they had come, making sure nobody was pursuing, unconsciously fingering the locket Mystique had given her. Remembering what was inside, Pyro sighed, _I wish you were still around, boss. I've tried to carry on what you started, but it's not been easy._ His usual confidence began to return and he grinned, _I don't know if you can see me from wherever you are now, but watch this. I hope I make you proud._

He stood, and from his lighter rose a ball of flame. It grew and expanded until, just as it could expand no more, his hand shot out and the gigantic fireball flashed through the air towards the unaware humans. Beside him Gemini stood, her eyes wide, waiting with bated breath to see the humans' demise.

Five soldiers were struck by the flame ball, and the fire subsequently spread to the rest of the group around them. The air was thick with men's screams and the sound of flesh burning. The rest of the humans – a safe distance away from the flaming, flailing mob – quickly got over their initial shock and reacted with military precision, dropping into defensive positions and scanning the area to determine where the attack had come from. Pyro shoved Gemini to the ground and launched another fireball at a group of three or four humans, before ducking into cover himself. Bullets spat off the ground beside them.

"Perhaps this wasn't such a great idea," he muttered to himself.

-

-

-

Screwing up his eyes against the sudden sunlight, Atlas climbed out of the end of the tunnel and sat for a moment on the ground, getting his bearings. Yes, he remembered now. This was where Mole had dug the original tunnel to sneak inside the X-Men's base from below. He was outside in the woods, near the edge of the estate. The school building was not too far away. Atlas was tired, but he knew he couldn't stop now. If the humans were near here, he and his friends could take the advantage of surprise and kill a number of them. If there were no humans here, they might be able to get the children out through to the tunnel and take them to safety. Wherever that might be. Anyway, the first thing to do was to assess what threats, if any, were close to the tunnel entrance.

Reaching the edge of the treeline, he was just in time to see the massive cloud of flame as it flew like a released bird from Pyro's outstretched hand, soaring towards the humans and engulfing them in burning death. Atlas watched as Pyro and Gemini ducked into cover, the humans reacting more quickly than might have been expected. Several of them were inching their way towards the hidden mutants. One man pulled the pin from a grenade and flung it towards them. Atlas lifted a hand, and a rock flew from the ground in front of him to smack into the grenade, knocking it off course. It exploded in mid-air, harming no-one.

Standing at the edge of the woods, he wasn't exactly inconspicuous, and it didn't take long for one of the humans to spot him. Atlas raised a mound of earth and ducked behind it just in time, as bullets began to fly overhead. He thrust his hands into the loose soil around him, and called upon his power, sending a violent earth tremor out towards the humans. The onrushing mercs had no warning of what was coming, and all of them were thrown off their feet as the ground began to shake violently around them. Atlas increased his power, and gouges and cracks began to appear in the earth on which the men lay sprawled. Disturbing the very fabric of the ground, he turned the whole area into a gigantic mire of quicksand. The humans, already sinking, began to struggle desperately yet futilely to escape. More screams began to fill the air, to match those of the men who Pyro was still setting alight with carefully thrown fireballs, as he and Gemini moved across the garden, continually outmanoeuvring their pursuers. Had Gemini seen what Atlas had done? He desperately hoped so. He wanted more than anything to be able to impress her.

-

-

-

Nine couldn't believe what was happening. More than half of his task force was dead now. He'd walked round the back of the mansion to try and plan the best way to enter from there, only to find that in his absence some mutant freaks had launched an attack from the entrance to the estate, and annihilated almost every man he had on that side. How had they done it? Were there other ways out of the building that One's schematics hadn't shown? Angrily, Nine tightened his pack around his shoulders and spoke to his second in command, "When I give the signal, begin the attack from the rear."

"Yessir."  
He stepped towards the rear entrance. No more fooling around. It was time to take matters into his own hands now.

-

-

-

Relief flooding through her system, Cassandra knelt down to hug Accel and Phoebe tightly as the elevator doors slid open.

"You're all right…" she whispered. "Oh, Phoebe…Accel…I was so worried about you…"

"I'm OK," said the older child.

The other kids backed away slightly when they saw Phoebe. Shy and miserable, the six year old gripped Cassandra's hand tightly and huddled against her.

"You heard me, then," said Helios to Cassandra.

"Yeah. Where's Vertigo?"

"I dunno. We got separated. He could be anywhere."

The two of them embraced each other briefly, simply out of relief that they were still safe and none of the children had been hurt. Cassandra suspected that he wanted to hold her a little longer, but she wasn't willing to get close to anyone any more. She pulled away.

"Listen, I had an idea," she told him. "We can access the hangar from here, right? Do your jets have any weapons?"

"No. We could use one to get the children out, but neither of us know how to fly them."

"We need Vertigo."

"Yeah."

-

-

-

Vertigo had managed to evade the man with the flamethrower, but the ground floor was still crawling with mercenaries, and he could find no way of getting to the elevator. He'd heard a pair of screams and assumed Helios had got a couple of the sub-creatures. Not bad, considering Helios was an X-Man. He hadn't heard the sound of any children screaming, so he guessed they were still safe. What to do now? Should he try and find the kids? Should he try and find somewhere safe to hole up until the X-Men got back? How long would that be? Should he try to pick off as many humans as he could, using his familiarity with the mansion to remain hidden? Should he steal a weapon from a fallen soldier and use it to fight off the rest? No. Mutants didn't use weapons. They didn't need them. Pyro's rule.

A sound from over his shoulder alerted him instantly to another attacker, but Vertigo couldn't move fast enough to avoid the throwing knife that embedded itself in his upper arm. It would have sliced into his neck if he hadn't raised his arms instinctively. Caught by surprise, and in shock from the pain, he stumbled and fell on to his side. The first thought that jolted into his startled mind was _Recyclo_! but that mutant was dead. This had to be one of the humans, but one with extraordinarily good aim. From a covered position came a spray of bullets, which Vertigo managed to roll over and avoid, but this only increased the pain from the knife in his shoulder. He gasped and tried to pull the blade free, but the pain was too intense.

Nine stood, his rifle held at waist height, approaching the struggling figure of the mutant. The boy tried to remove the knife from his shoulder, but Nine knew that was only making it worse. Stepping closer and aiming his weapon at the mutant's head, he was taken by surprise as the boy's leg kicked out, sending the rifle spinning out of his grasp. Nine recovered quickly, and swerved away from another kick. Getting himself under control and ignoring the pain, the mutant climbed to his feet. It was obvious the knife and the pain were impairing the boy's balance and co-ordination, and Nine took advantage, grabbing another knife from his belt and aiming for the mutant's jugular. The boy could only throw himself backwards in desperation, falling over and landing in an agonised heap, still trying to pull the first knife free. Nine moved in for the kill.

Before he could administer the killing blow, something grabbed Nine around the neck and jerked him off his feet. Gasping with surprise, he stabbed his knife backwards to catch whoever was holding him. He hit only air. The grip on his throat increased. He could no longer breathe. He forced himself not to panic. A hissing noise sounded in his left ear.

"Hold him," Gaia said to the baby python.

As the mercenary struggled to shift the snake, desperately trying to free his windpipe, Gaia gently placed the baby cobra on his shoulder. The viper sank its fangs into the man's neck, and the constrictor loosened its grip.

Nine broke free, his muscular arms throwing the python away from him, slashing at the tiny cobra with his knife. It had bitten him, but the anti-snake serum he'd taken should protect him from that. Recovering his balance, he saw the woman. The snakes were moving towards her – this had to be the woman who controlled the animals, the one who had killed so many of his men already. Grabbing his communicator, Nine barked, "Commence attack from rear!"

Soon the sound of the rest of his unit could be heard, approaching his position. The boy was still crouched in the corner, and still struggling to pull the knife from his arm. Nine faced the woman. Her eyes were focused on the ground at his feet, and he looked down.

"Shit!"

The black widow spider was already crawling up his foot, and Nine flicked it away with his knife, then crushed it underfoot. The woman gave a gasp of dismay. Nine reached for his handgun. From behind him came a snapping and snarling sound, as a small wolf began attacking him.

"No! Get away!" the woman cried.

Nine swung the handgun round to aim at her head, but the ninja boy kicked it out of his hand and smacked his fist into the mercenary leader's face. Or where his face had been, at any rate. Nine ducked away from the blow, kicked the baby wolf away from him, and grabbed his rifle from where it had fallen earlier. There was a clatter of footsteps and the two mutants were surrounded by the rest of his men.

"Go! Go!" Gaia yelled at her animals.

The creatures disappeared around the corner. The mercenaries ignored them. Without the woman to control them, they guessed the animals would pose them no threat.

"Kill them, sir?"

Nine shook his head, "Not yet. We may need them as bargaining chips to help stabilise the situation out front. You, you, and you, stay here and keep them covered. The rest of you, let's clean up the front."

Three men stayed behind to guard the injured boy and the woman. Vertigo sank to his knees, the agony in his shoulder getting worse, and Chloe knelt beside him, looking for some way she might ease his pain.

"The kids are safe," Vertigo whispered to her. "We took them downstairs. Helios was taking the last ones to the elevator when we got split up."

"You've done well. Hold on and we'll get through this."

The boy gave a cynical laugh, "I don't think so."

Gaia's expression suddenly changed, as if something had just occurred to her. She gave him an odd sort of smile, "Have faith."

"In what?"

But her only response was the same mysterious smile.

-

-

-

Running lightly across the huge expanse of quicksand, stepping only where he knew the ground was solid, Atlas noted with satisfaction the terrified screams of the men who were slowly sinking below the surface. It struck him as slightly ironic. The earth had brought forth so much life for him to cherish and nurture. Now he was returning some of that life, in the form of these mercenaries who were about to be swallowed up by the quagmire. One doomed, sinking soldier grabbed desperately at Atlas' feet as he ran past, but could find no purchase and disappeared beneath the surface of the newly-made swamp. Pyro and Gemini were still crouching in cover, and the few remaining humans were spreading out to surround their position. A fireball caught one of them in the chest and the man howled as the flames burnt him alive.

A new group of humans were running down from the front entrance of the school. Atlas reached the edge of the mire, and knelt down beside his friends.

"Boss!"

"Atlas! Are you all right?"

"Yeah. Listen, I've got an idea – "

Another fireball flashed out, killing another soldier.

"What's your idea?" Pyro asked.

"Gemini can use her twin; send her across to the treeline. She'll lure the humans over that way."

"So what?"

"They'll walk right into the quicksand I just made," he said, pointing proudly back the way he had come.

Pyro nodded, "Gemini, do it."

With practice, and with teaching from the X-Men, Gemini was finding it much easier to summon her twin. Whereas before it had caused her great pain and required great concentration, now she felt only the slightest twinge of discomfort, and could summon her duplicate with a minimum of mental strain. She closed her eyes, breathed in deeply, and her twin appeared beside her. The duplicate stood, and disappeared on its mission.

"_Is_ there any way to tell the two of you apart?" Atlas wondered.

"No. Except that if she dies, I don't. If I die – well, I assume she does too. I've never exactly tested it."

"Get down!" Pyro yelled, pushing them flat on the ground and covering them with his own body. A second later, there came a thunderous explosion as a grenade detonated mere feet away.

"It's working! Look!" Atlas cried.

Several mercenaries had broken off from the main group to pursue the fleeing twin. Maybe they thought she was running to try and summon reinforcements, but for whatever reason a sizeable force had been sent after her. The surface of the mire was now flat and unbroken. Those men who'd been unfortunate enough to get caught in it last time, had now been sucked down beneath the surface. The onrushing group now had no idea what they were running into. They fell, and there was no chance of getting back out. Atlas felt the warm glow of pride and achievement inside him. Finally he'd managed to make a difference, to do something that nobody else could have done, and even better, both Pyro and Gemini had seen him do it. He glanced at them, hoping for some words of praise. Gemini's triumphant smirk mirrored the one on Pyro's face, and the man merely nodded his approval to Atlas. That, from a man who rarely gave praise of any kind, was more than enough.

-

-

-

Nine was struggling to keep his anger under control. Once again he'd been completely fooled by the freaks. He'd seen no danger in letting his men pursue the running girl. She wasn't armed, and there didn't seem to be anywhere she could run to. He hadn't wanted to take any chances, however, and had sent a large enough force to counter whatever powers she might conceivably have. It had never occurred to him that the mutant freaks had the intelligence to lay any kind of trap. Complacency had gotten the better of him. He was the best. He knew he was the best. That in itself could be a problem, though, as he tended to underestimate his enemies too much. In this case, he had certainly been guilty of assuming too little of the mutants. No more.

"Cover me," he snapped.

His men knelt and trained their weapons on the position where they knew the three mutants to be hiding. There was no sign of the girl in the forest, and she had obviously only been a decoy. If she had any potent destructive powers, it was unlikely she'd have been used that way. She had to have been the weakest of the four. Nine put her out of his mind. Scanning the gardens with his eyes, he plotted out his route. He'd work his way around behind the mutants' position, then finish them off. His men would keep the freaks occupied and keep their attention on what was in front of them. The freaks would not survive this time.

-

Had Nine only known about Gemini's mutation, he would have realised how his plan was flawed. As it was, Gemini's twin, hidden amongst the trees at the edge of the forest, saw him working his way stealthily around. Since the twin was controlled by Gemini's mind: anything the twin knew, she knew too, and thus she was forewarned of the mercenary leader's approach.

"Dad, somebody's coming at us from behind," she hissed to Pyro.

Too preoccupied with targeting one of the other humans, he didn't hear her.

"_Dad_," she repeated, tugging his arm.

This time she got his attention, and the two of them turned just in time to see Nine raising his rifle to fire. A ball of flame spat towards him, melting the rifle into a fused, useless lump of slag. Angrily Nine threw it aside, and with lightning speed he pulled a blade from his belt. None of the mutants could react fast enough, and the knife spun through the air to impale Pyro's hand, his lighter dropping to the ground. Even as Pyro grimaced against the pain and desperately grabbed for the lighter with his good hand, Nine was on them. He kicked aside Gemini's panicked attempt at self defence, and easily moved out of the way of the barrage of rocks that Atlas sent at him. Stamping on Pyro's injured hand, he picked up the cigarette lighter and he spoke into his communicator, "I got them."

Within seconds the rest of his men were surrounding the position. Gemini had torn off a scrap of something and was hurriedly wrapping it around her father's wound. Atlas was waiting for the right moment to turn the whole area into quicksand, but he suspected he wouldn't have time to do so before they figured out what he was doing. They'd been caught by that trick before.

"All right. Kill them," said Nine. "The ones inside the mansion too. When they're all dead, we'll pull out."

Tossing the lighter to one of his men, he turned and headed for the helicopters. It had taken more time and a lot more lives than he might have anticipated, but he had won. Was this really all the mutant population could provide as a challenge? Were these really the much-feared mutants who had stopped the Apocalypse? How the hell had this ragtag bunch of individuals managed to destroy the immortal Horsemen? He shrugged. Perhaps the Horsemen hadn't been everything they were made out to be. As he saw the choppers ahead of him, Nine suddenly winced and put his hand to his temple. Great. Just the time to have a headache coming.

-

As the men surrounding them collectively grimaced and reflexively put a hand on their foreheads, Pyro and the others knew something was happening.

"What was _that_?" a man demanded.

"You felt it too?"

"I've had migraines before, but that was – "

"Oh, fuck, what _is_ this…" one of them gasped, dropping his weapon and putting both hands to his head.

"Shit, that hurts – "

"My _head_ – it's like I'm being torn apart – "

"Oh my – "

Then their words became screams, and the men were on their knees, clutching at their skulls, yelling as if the devil himself was pouring hot lava on their skin, falling on to their sides, curling up into foetal positions, rocking back and forth, howling, their fists tightening, their bodies twitching, then lying still. For a moment none of the three mutants moved, then Pyro reached out to check one of the men. He was dead. They were all dead.

"What _happened_?" Gemini cried.

None of them knew.

-

-

-

"What _happened_?" asked Vertigo.

The three men lay dead, their bodies at the grotesque angles they'd writhed into during their agony. Chloe stood, and helped the boy to his feet.

"Gaia? What happened? What _was_ that?"

"I did tell you to have faith. That was my husband."

"Oculus? What did he do?"

"He's downstairs, using the Cerebro machine. It amplifies his telepathic power; he used it to 'fry' their minds."

"Of course…you mean you knew? You knew before it was going to happen?"

"Yes. He told me. He was using the machine to search for Mystique. He must have just discovered what was going on here."

"The children. We have to check on the children!"

"They're fine. We're all safe. Come on, you need to get that shoulder healed."

She began hurrying towards the elevator, and Vertigo followed close behind her. He'd got there before them, and Vertigo watched as Oculus and Gaia came together, held each other tightly, and kissed. Huh. He'd never seen Oculus show any emotion before. Oh well, there was a first time for everything. Despite himself, Vertigo actually admired the man, though nobody knew. He saw in Oculus a reflection of his own cynical nature, his own pessimistic view of life, his own refusal to expect anything but the worst. He respected the way Rosiçky didn't have the same childish optimism that the other adults (other than Pyro) seemed to share. Gaia smiled as she gently took Vertigo's arm and held it out for her husband to heal.

"This will hurt," Rosiçky said as he took hold of the knife.

Vertigo gritted his teeth, determined to show no pain in front of two X-Men. Nevertheless he could not prevent a small gasp of pain escaping as the blade was pulled free. Rosiçky's hand touched the wound, and a moment later it closed up, the pain vanishing. All that remained was an intense, warm feeling that lightened his heart and for a moment threatened to pierce through the cloud of cynicism that shrouded Vertigo's mind. He felt unfamiliar emotion stirring in his heart. Memories began to seep through. _No. I can't think about the past. It hurts too much._ He pushed the emotions and the memories away, and settled back into his cynical shell.

-

-

-

Nine had collapsed by the side of the nearest helicopter, the pain still feeling as if his head was being torn apart. Through supreme force of will, he managed to climb into the chopper's cockpit. Pushing the dead pilot aside, he swiped at the auto-pilot controls and engaged them. Falling to the floor and screaming in agony, Nine tried and failed to comprehend whatever force was now destroying him. The helicopter rose from the ground and ascended into the sky, turning and heading back the way it had come, back to the headquarters of the Twelve. As the distance from the estate increased, Nine breathed more easily. The pain was decreasing. Once he was a good few miles away, it had disappeared completely. He deactivated the auto-pilot and took the controls himself.


	13. Chapter Twelve: A Turn for the Worse

"Gemini?"  
She looked up from where she was lovingly checking and retying the bandage on her father's hand. Vertigo sat down beside them, and nodded to the wound, "Ask Oculus to heal that."

"I'd rather not," said Pyro.

"Why not?"

"Because his power does things other than healing. It affects your mind as well, influences you. Makes you think more favourably about him. I'm not convinced he wouldn't use it against me, to try and gain a hold over me."

"He can do that?"

Without replying, Pyro stood and headed towards the mansion. Vertigo shrugged, then turned to Gemini, "Are you OK?"

"Get away from me," she snapped.

"I'm sorry?"

"You heard me. I don't ever want to talk to you again."

Confusion reigned in his mind, then he realised, "Ah – is this because of what happened last night?"

"What do _you_ think?"

"Gem, I'm sorry about what happened. I'm sorry you had to relive those memories. If I'd had any idea what was going to happen – if I'd known what Van Gaarde had done to you – "

"You're no better than him!" she said hatefully. "I told you _three times_ I wanted to stop, but you wouldn't let it stop! You didn't care what it might do to me! I was trying to stop it from happening but you wouldn't let me! _You_ practically raped me too!"

"No! No, it was nothing like that at all!"

"Maybe not for _you_," she snapped. "You're not the one who might have become pregnant, are you? That's right, it never even occurred to you, did it? Oh no, you're too busy thinking 'Gemini isn't wearing panties to bed so she'll go down in a flash'. If I hadn't had my flashback and started screaming, I might be carrying your baby right now! I hate you, Vertigo!" then her voice softened, "You hurt me, you know that? You ruined what I thought was something special between us. You really, really hurt me…"

"Look, I honestly thought you were OK with it…"

"I was tired! I was confused! I'm messed up and you took advantage of me! Didn't it ever occur to you that I might have other things on my mind than getting laid? Didn't you ever think I was happy just sitting there and being friends? Why does every guy I meet seem to think he's in some kind of race to be the first to get my panties down? Why…"

There were no more words, and she turned away, furiously wiping away the traitor tears that appeared in her eyes. Vertigo gently put his hand on her shoulder, but she slapped him away, "Get away from me, or I'll tell my dad you tried to rape me."

He drew back, and sighed, "I'm sorry."

"You're not sorry. You don't care about me," Gemini snapped, then sadly she said. "I thought you did. I really thought you cared about me. I really thought I'd found someone who could love me for who I was, rather than for my face or my body. I was really happy because I thought we could start something that would last forever. Because I'm _tired_ of being told I'm pretty. It's _because_ I'm pretty that I was raped by him…"

"Gemini…"

"Shut up! I can't believe you had so little respect for me! You obviously think I'm just some little sex toy who'll satisfy your every carnal urge! Well I'm _not_! I thought of you as a friend and maybe even like an older brother too, somebody who would protect me and who'd be there for me when I needed them! I thought you were one of the few people who _didn_'t just want me on my back!"

Then she sighed heavily, her anger having burned up, "You're such a bastard. Just get away from me. Don't ever try and talk to me again."

Standing, she walked away, ignoring any responses that he might have made. Gemini waited until she had turned the corner of the school and was alone. Then she sank down, put her head between her knees, and let the tears flow fully. She felt betrayed. She'd thought he genuinely cared for her. She'd been wrong. He only wanted one thing. All men were the same. She would never find anyone who would care for her. They would all simply want to get her on her back as fast as possible. She didn't want that. She didn't _want_ sex. She'd missed out on two whole years of growing up, and at fourteen she wasn't _ready_ for that. She wanted an innocent, caring relationship with a guy who would be a friend instead of just a lover. She'd thought she had that relationship with Vertigo. She had been so happy until he started…well, she didn't even want to think about it any more. Now their relationship was ruined, the innocence and happiness destroyed. She doubted it could ever be rebuilt. She would never be able to trust him again.

As he watched her hurrying away, Vertigo wasn't sure exactly what he felt. There was some guilt there. He knew it was his fault that she'd been forced to relive her painful memories. And yes, a potential pregnancy and thus the need for contraceptives hadn't occurred to him. But still – he hadn't exactly had to tie her down or anything. He'd genuinely thought she was happy to make love. She hadn't been wearing panties and she hadn't exactly gone to great lengths to hide that fact. Surely if she hadn't wanted sex, she'd have said so a lot earlier. He suspected she'd been happy enough to begin with…but then the enormity of it had hit her as soon as she was on her back. He remembered the smile on her face, and he realised now it hadn't been the seductive smirk of a young woman enjoying the foreplay. It had been the happy, innocent smile of a young girl who thought they were just playing around. Vertigo sighed. He reminded himself that he _was_ two years older than Gemini, and perhaps he was ready for things that she wasn't. Not that it mattered any more. She hated him now. Any potential relationship they might have had, seemed doomed now. He gave a cynical chuckle. He'd actually allowed himself to become happy at the thought of dating Gemini. It had fallen apart quickly enough. How tedious and predictable life was. Nothing ever went right for him.

Should he try and speak to her? No. At least, not for some time. She was upset and angry with him, and she had sounded sincere when she'd threatened to tell Pyro what had happened. It wasn't so much that he was afraid of what Pyro might do. The fact was he had great respect for the man, and hated the idea that Pyro would think badly of him. He should do what Gemini asked, and leave her alone. It was clear that it wasn't going to work between them. He didn't even know why he'd bothered in the first place. _Love isn't for me. There's no point in pretending otherwise. I don't think I'll ever find a girl who sees things the way I do. Besides, love isn't worth it. Hate is more powerful and more enduring. Love can fall in part in a second but hate can last for a thousand years. Hate will always dominate the world and shape our lives._

_And besides, everybody knows you should never sleep with the boss's daughter._ His shoulders slumping as he put his hands in his pockets, Vertigo half-closed his eyes and wandered aimlessly, lazily back towards the mansion.

-

She heard footsteps, and then, "Gemini?"

From his voice she knew Atlas was standing over her. She didn't even acknowledge his presence. Seemingly she couldn't move three feet without somebody else wanting to use her as a sex toy.

"There's – um – something I want to show you," he said awkwardly.

Something made her look up and into his eyes. She didn't know what it was. Perhaps it was the earnest shyness in his voice, so different from the confident silver-tongued tone Vertigo normally used. Gemini was tired of guys who used charming words and false smiles to trick her. At least Atlas wasn't like that. What little he said was generally unvarnished truth.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I'll show you."

She was in no mood for any male company, but she mellowed slightly when she recalled that he _had_ probably saved their lives with that quicksand thing. Maybe she owed him at least to find out what it was he wanted. And she was happy to be with _any_one other than Vertigo after what had just happened. She stood, and nodded to him. He led the way, into the woods. Gemini had never spent any time in here, and she hoped he knew where he was going. All the trees looked the same to her. She'd have gotten lost within minutes. Where were they _going_? Was he leading her to some secluded spot in the forest, away from everyone else, away from Dad, so he could try to make love to her? Part of her suspected as much.

"Mind your head here," said Atlas.

She ducked underneath some overhanging tree branches, and found herself in an opening of sorts in the midst of the trees. It was in shade apart from one small spot in the centre, where a ray of sunlight poked its way through the overhanging branches and illuminated a small section of the forest floor. That was where Atlas was heading. He stopped just in front of it, and Gemini said, "Well? What are you showing me?"

He nodded to the small section of lighted ground in front of them, and knelt down. Gemini did the same. And then she saw it. In the centre of the illuminated circle was a single flower. Its blossom was of a curious bell-shaped structure, and its petals were a brilliant sapphire blue, catching the light from the sun just perfectly. It was the most beautiful flower she'd ever seen…she leaned forward to take a closer look.

"Well, what do you – um – what do you think?" he asked nervously.

"It's wonderful…" she said softly, touching one of the petals lightly. "Atlas – I've never seen anything like this before – where did you find it?"

"I didn't. Actually, I – um – bred it."

"Oh…does it have a name?"

He looked away shyly, "Uh, yeah, it's – I call it, um, the Gemini flower."

"Gemini as in – ?"

"As in you, yes. I – " he hesitated. " – I grew this specially for you. Look. See how the bells grow in identical pairs? They're twins. And the petals are the same shade of blue as that dress you like wearing. It's the colour I always associate with you."

She looked at him strangely for a moment, then she looked back at the flower, "You grew this for _me_? Why?"

"Because – because it's the only way I can express my feelings for you properly. I don't have a great way with words like Vertigo. I'm not a great hero like Gladiator. I can't inspire people like Pyro. For a long time I've wanted to let you know how I felt about you. This is the only way I could see to do it."

She sighed heavily, and drew back from the flower, "And now this is the part where you try and get into my panties."

"What? No," he said in surprise. "You're not listening to me. I – look, I really don't know how to say this. I really am useless with words. OK, I'll try again. Gemini, you like this flower because it looks nice, right?"

"Yeah…"

"For me it's different. I love it because of the time and care that I put into growing and nurturing it. I love it because of the way it responded to my care. I love it because – well, for the same reasons I love you."

"You've lost me," she said.

He swallowed nervously, "I really like you, OK, but I don't think I feel love in the way other people do. I would love you in the same way I love this flower. I would care for you, nurture you and cherish you. I would be there to help you when you weren't doing well. I would – I would be happy simply knowing that I made you happy, in the same way I'm happy because I made this flower what it is."

He closed his eyes and looked away. He'd said it all now. All of the powerful emotion that he'd been keeping inside of him, was now out in the open. He hadn't been able to hide it any longer. Now Gemini probably thought he was crazy. He'd been an idiot to think that he could translate his feelings into something she could understand, even using the flower as a visual aid. He looked down at it sadly. He'd taken so much pride and happiness in growing the flower. Now Gemini was going to laugh in his face and the flower would only ever serve as a reminder of it.

"Um," she said. "I – I may have misjudged you in the past. If that's true, I apologise. I thought you were just like the rest, only interested in me for one thing. And – and a lot of what you just said doesn't make any sense to me. I don't think I'll ever understand or share the bond you have with nature. But I think I understand what you're trying to say. I think you're looking for the same thing I am: just to love someone, and for that to be enough."

Atlas nodded, and stuck out his hand, "Friends?"

They clasped hands for a second, and she smiled, "Yeah."

Now that the ice was finally broken between them, both of the teenagers relaxed. She said, "So how long have you had this gift with flowers? Is it part of your mutation? When did you discover your power?"

"Uh – I think I was eleven years old. I was abandoned at birth, like the others, and lived at an orphanage. The other kids knew what I was and they hated me, but I was happy spending time alone. The orphanage was right next to a patch of woodland owned by some millionaire. He used to let us play there, provided we didn't make any mess or steal anything. Anyway, I used to walk into the woods to get away from everyone else, and I'd take my sketch book with me. I'd spend hours just drawing pictures of flowers and trees. You'd probably find that boring, but – well, I guess we're different."

She smiled at him, happy just to be listening to his story, contented that she had at last found someone who wanted to be her friend first and her lover second.

"Anyway, one day I found a flower that was more beautiful than anything I'd ever seen before. I'd just started sketching it, when a group of the human kids showed up. They obviously saw I was happy, and they couldn't have that. They pulled up the flower, trampled on it, and tore up my sketches."

Gemini's mouth opened in dismay, "So what did you do?"

"Well – I killed them."

"You _what_?"

"You have to realise the way I feel about plants. I know I sound crazy, but they mean as much to me as mutants mean to Pyro, or animals mean to Gaia, or humans mean to the X-Men. To me, flowers and plants and trees are the most important form of life. I don't care if there isn't another person in the world who agrees with me. It's what I believe and I won't stop believing it. When I was in the Brotherhood and trying to kill the humans, it was because I wanted to protect the natural world from being polluted any further. I killed the humans who tore up that flower. I was so angry I didn't even know _what_ I was doing. I split the earth open and it swallowed them up."

"What happened then? Did you get in trouble?"

"I ran. I just wanted to get away from there as fast as possible. I don't know how long I spent on the run, living quite literally off the land, but eventually Pyro – your dad – found me. He brought me to the island and you know the rest."

"Yeah…hey, Atlas."

"Yeah?"

"Does anyone else know about this place? About this flower?"

"No, I – um – I was hoping it could be our little secret place. Somewhere we can come when we want to be alone, when we want to feel the peace of nature around us."

"Sounds good. You'll have to teach me how to find my way here though."

He grinned. She gave a happy laugh, and shifted her weight until she was resting against him. Atlas' hand encircled her shoulder. Neither of them tried to go any further, to make any more physical contact. Neither of them wanted to. Both were content just to sit together and pretend they were alone in the world.

-

-

-

In the total pitch blackness a figure sat, leaning against the hard tiled wall. There was no light and no sound, and hadn't been for all the time the figure had been awake. How long had it been? How long had this imprisonment lasted? Hours? Days? Years? There was no way to tell. It was like one long never-ending dream.

_Where am I? Who am I? _

A twitching sensation came from the palms of the hands.

_Ha, ha. Why can't I remember anything? Why can't I remember who I am?_

The twitching sensation continued. Clenching the hands into fists, it went away.

_Maybe I'm nobody. Maybe I'm dead and nobody told God. Ha, ha, that's funny._

A few minutes passed without any more ideas. Then:

_Why am I here? How long have I been here_?

A sudden light-headedness, and a sluggishness of the limbs. Overhead a gas of some sort was hissing into the interior of the darkness. The figure slumped over sideways as unconsciousness began to overcome. At the very last moment before complete blackness, at the very edge of perception, there was something: a light? A sound? Voices?

"This one's lethal, so treat it with extreme caution."

An impatient sigh, "Yeah, Doc, we _know_."

A call from afar, "Dr Cartëasis!"

_Ha, ha, Cartëasis…Car…Car…_

And then there was nothing.

-

-

-

Crusader, Gladiator and Aqua were still cautiously moving around the large mansion owned by the corrupt admiral who was responsible for the death of Aqua's family. Before starting to explore the house, they'd first tried to get an idea of how many people were there. From the state of things downstairs, it seemed that McKenzie had been throwing some kind of dinner party. That would explain the large number of expensive cars parked outside. Most of the guests had left, but a small number were still present, presumably at the admiral's invitation, perhaps to discuss some business proposal or simply to share cigars and a bottle of brandy, or whatever these guys did on this sort of occasion. In the dining room and kitchen, staff were busy cleaning up after the meal, and McKenzie and his friends seemed to have retreated into a smoking room near the front entrance.

Aqua hadn't noticed it at first, but she could now definitely tell that both her friends seemed more than somewhat distracted. She guessed it had be that thing, whatever it was, that was somewhere inside the building. It had to be interfering with their telepathy and confusing them, exhausting their minds. It seemed to her that her friends were beginning to worry too. Obviously they had never encountered anything like this before, and it was making them uncomfortable. Aqua felt nothing out of the ordinary, but then she didn't have any telepathic senses to be affected by it. She watched, with growing concern, as both Crusader and Gladiator put both hands to their temple and shut their eyes, wincing and groaning as if they were suffering from an excruciating headache. Was that what it felt like? She had no way of knowing.

Aqua was alerted to the sound of footsteps coming from around the corner in the darkness. A flickering torch-light pierced the shadows at the end of the perpendicular corridor. They'd concluded there were a number of guards patrolling both the inside and outside of the mansion. This had to be one of them. Aqua looked at Crusader, waiting for her to tell them what to do and how to hide from the guard. To her surprise and dismay, Crusader appeared to be completely unaware of the guard's approach. Bent almost double, her hands pressed to her forehead, the older girl was gasping and tensing as the unknown force assailed her telepathic mind. Aqua turned to see her boyfriend in the same condition.

"_Guys_…" she whispered.

Neither of them responded.

_What's going on? What's wrong with them?_

The guard's footsteps grew increasingly louder as he approached the turn. Within moments he would spot them and doubtless raise the alarm. Aqua looked around for somewhere they might hide. Not far away a door was lying ajar, and she hurried over to look inside. Good. It was a small, apparently disused storeroom. Aqua ran back to her friends, and quickly guided them into the small room. Neither seemed entirely aware of what was happening, but neither tried to resist as she pulled them inside. Closing the door behind her, Aqua listened for the sound of the guard going past. When his footsteps had disappeared and she thought it was safe to emerge, she was about to reach for the door handle when a dual voice came from behind her.

"Aqua?" they both said.

She looked round. Her friends seemed to have recovered from whatever had afflicted them.

"Are you – are you all right?" she whispered.

"We think so," both responded.

"What – what _happened_?"

It was Crusader who answered, "It's getting worse. Whatever it is that's affecting our telepathy, it's getting worse. Maybe we're getting closer to the source. For a few moments it was so overwhelming we couldn't think straight at all."

"How did we get in here?" said Gladiator.

"A guard almost found us, and I had to – had to drag you in here."

"Good thinking," Crusader approved. "You'll have to stay on your toes. If this continues to get worse, we might lose control again. We'll need to rely on you to get us out of any danger."

"You can c – count on me."

"Let's keep going."

She looked through the walls to find out where the guard was, and saw him continuing his patrol, heading away from them. It was safe to leave the room, so the three of them went back out into the main corridor. Instantly both of them felt the affects of the telepathic inhibitor once more. Both winced.

"We have to shut this off, whatever it is," said Gladiator. "We can't go on like this."

"Agreed," said Crusader. "We think we've determined more or less where it is: on the ground floor, at the back of the house…"

"…or it could be in the basement…"

"…we're not sure."

"What's the quickest way down there?"

"The main staircase…"

"…but there are guards stationed there…"

"…so we'll have to distract them."

Aqua blinked. Listening to them talk, it was almost like listening to one person talk to him or herself. Their minds being linked meant that they could tell instantly what the other was thinking, and pick up and expand on each other's thoughts. They were still changing, growing closer together, ceasing to be two and becoming one. Aqua was still afraid of them changing irreversibly, and losing the two people she cared for most in the world.

Making their way through the house in the darkness, the teenagers found themselves crouched in the shadows at the top of the wide, richly-carpeted set of stairs that led down to the floor below. At the bottom, as they'd already known, two guards were in position. Once again they pondered the reason for the presence of the guards. Was McKenzie just concerned with protecting his house and his property? Or was there something else here, something that he wanted to keep hidden? There was no doubt he had his secrets. Aqua's dead relatives were testimony to that. But what exactly was he trying to keep under cover? What exactly was he stealing from the Navy's research labs? Where were those objects going? Was he keeping them himself? Was he selling them to terrorists? Why had the man down on the Florida beachfront been so ready to kill himself with his poison tooth? Why was McKenzie able to command that level of loyalty in his men? There had to be something else going on here, but the young mutants didn't know what it was. Was there somebody else involved, somebody bigger than McKenzie, somebody who _could_ command people to kill themselves to protect a secret?

"Get ready to move," Crusader whispered. "When I distract the guards, we have to hurry down the stairs and duck into that room there – see it? – before they can turn round and see us. They won't be distracted for long."

"What if they – what if they hear us?"

"It's a carpet floor. They won't. Ready?"

"Yeah, r – ready."

Crusader extended her hand. On the floor below, one of the doors opened and closed noisily. The guards reacted with surprise, and instinctively began to move towards the door, to see who was there. Before the men could begin to act logically or follow protocol, the three teenagers ran silently down the carpeted stairs and through the doorway Crusader had pointed out a second ago. Carefully she pushed it closed behind them. Outside, the puzzled guards went back to their station at the bottom of the stairs. There'd been nobody at the door. They assumed it had been the wind. There were no windows around here, but there seemed no other explanation. Soon they forgot about it.

"This is the ground floor," Crusader whispered. "I think the machine – whatever it is – we're looking for is at the other end of the house. If we're careful, we should be able to get there without meeting any more guards."

They moved off again, slipping from room to room, keeping a careful eye out to ensure they did not run into anybody else on patrol. Down on the ground floor they also ran the risk of bumping into staff or guests or the admiral himself, but with their X-ray eyesight the two Rosiçkys were well enough forewarned of any potential encounters. They could no longer rely on their telepathy to warn them of anyone approaching. The inhibiting force, now even stronger on the ground floor, was almost completely 'muffling' their mind power. Struggling onwards, they led Aqua to where they sensed the force emanating from. By this time both of them were so overwhelmed and confused, they were almost entirely reliant on the water girl to guide them away from potential dangers and encounters.

Eventually they found their way to a small square-shaped room in the corner of the house. This was where the inhibiting force seemed strongest, and Aqua cautiously pushed open the door. There was nobody inside. She guided her friends inside the room, and with a supreme force of will the two Rosiçkys managed to focus on their surroundings. There was a light switch just inside the door, and Aqua flicked it on as she closed the door behind them.

"Is this – is this where it is?"

"We think so. We'll need to hunt for it and deactivate it."

The three of them began to conduct a search of the room. This was not an easy task, given none of them had the slightest idea what the machine looked like, or even what size it was. This room appeared to be an office of sorts, with a large expensive-looking desk taking up the central area, and bookcases and filing cabinets lining the walls. On the desk sat a computer and a pile of documents. After some minutes, as Crusader was checking one side of the room, she suddenly stopped and frowned, "I think this wall is fake."

"Eh?"

"I think there's a hidden room behind here," she forced her eyes to look through the wall. "Yeah – it's pitch black inside, but I think there's something there."

"That must be where the machine is hidden."

"How do we – how do we get it open?"

"There must be a switch somewhere. Wait – I'm trying to find the mechanism that opens it. I should be able to trace the source from following the wires if it's an electrical device. If it's hydraulic or something else, there'll be some other trail I can track."

As she did this, Gladiator took the opportunity to glance through the walls at the rest of the house to make sure nobody was about to walk in on them. It seemed they were more or less alone at this end of the house.

"We should take a look at the computer. We might find something on it," Gladiator suggested.

Crusader nodded distractedly, "Good idea."

He moved round the desk to sit in front of the computer, Aqua looking over his shoulder. Switching it on, they were greeted with a login prompt.

"We need a password," Gladiator said. "Damn it, I'm no good at this."

"L – let me try," said Aqua. "Chris – I mean Shapeshifter – taught me a little bit about how to – how to hack computers."

They changed places and she sat down in front of the computer. Then a little smile appeared on her face, "I – I recognise the software he's using. It has a number of – of fatal security flaws. This will be easy."

Within a couple of minutes, Aqua was logged into McKenzie's computer and searching his hard drive.

"What are we l – looking for, exactly?"

"Any kind of log he might keep of his activities, I suppose. Failing that, details of the research projects he's working on. That might give us some clues."

"I'll take a look at his – at his E-mails, too."

"Yeah, good one."

He left her to get on with it. Standing, Gladiator watched as his sister tried to trace the mechanism that would open the door to the hidden room. What would they find inside? Was there a stash of stolen research artefacts? Was there something that would explain why McKenzie had gone to such lengths as to kill the Forrester family and still be targeting Aqua? Was there some connection with the mysterious force that was apparently directing terrorist attacks around the world?

"How are you doing?" he asked his girlfriend.

"Not so good," Aqua replied. "The files are – are all encrypted."

"I thought you said this was going to be easy."

"Gaining access to the operating system was easy. Defeating the encryption and opening the files is – is a completely different matter. They're two entirely i – independent layers of security. I should – I should really take these files back home with me, and let Chris look at them."

From a seemingly invisible pocket in her uniform, she produced a small device that she inserted into the computer.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Chris makes them. It's kind of like an advanced form of floppy disk. It holds over four hundred gigabytes of data."

Gladiator pretended he knew what that meant. Glancing at Aqua once more, he was once more amazed by the utilitarian aspects of the X-Men uniforms. The black outfit hugged his girlfriend's attractive figure tightly, yet there were no bulges or protrusions anywhere to suggest where she was hiding all this equipment. Already he had seen her using a pair of binoculars as well as the disk that was now downloading data from the computer's hard drive. For a moment he found himself wishing that he had one of these uniforms himself, but he soon squashed that thought. _I'm a Brother, not an X-Man. They've got some cool stuff but that doesn't make them better than us. Their ideals are still as shaky as a leaf._

Then he thought, _besides, I bet she's boiling hot inside that thing. Is she actually wearing anything under there_?

Thoughts of Aqua being completely naked apart from the black leather outfit flitted into his mind, and he fought to push them away. _I can't think about my girlfriend that way. It isn't right_. While she waited for the computer's data to be transferred to the disk, Aqua smiled up at him. They exchanged no words; they didn't need to. Sometimes just a smile said enough on its own.

At that moment they heard a grating sound, and both looked over to see the wall at the back of the room sliding to one side. Crusader was kneeling down at the other side of the office, "The switch was under the carpet. There was a loose patch just here."

"So we've opened the secret room…"

The computer had finished downloading on to the disk, and Aqua slipped it back inside her uniform. Cautiously the three of them approached the dark opening that had just been revealed. Unfortunately the overhead light in the office was weak and did not illuminate the secret room. Crusader produced a compact flashlight from somewhere on her person (Gladiator was now determined to steal one of the uniforms some day to find out exactly how all this gear fitted inside) and stepped inside the hidden space. It looked to be about the same size as the office itself. Crusader's torch beam flitted about the interior, looking for something that might be a good place to start investigating. A second torch beam lit up the interior as Aqua pulled hers out too. A sheaf of documents on a makeshift table caught their attention. Crusader moved forward to investigate it while Aqua's light danced about the darkened room for a few moments, eventually coming to rest on some crates stacked in the corner. She and Gladiator went to take a closer look.

"These must be some of the artefacts he's stolen from research projects," Gladiator said, as the torch beam illuminated the words on the sides of the boxes.

**Advanced Tactical Guidance System, Artificial Respiratory Implants, Constantium Samples #1-5, Prototype Fusion Engine**, and **Electromagnetic Pulse Weaponry** were just a few of the names they read. Obviously these boxes contained either notes or parts pertaining to the respective topic. Clearly McKenzie had stolen them and was hiding them here, but for what purpose? Was he selling them on? Was he planning to develop his own advanced weaponry? Did he then sell _that_ on? Gladiator pulled the lid off one of the boxes and glanced inside out of curiosity. Crusader had produced a tiny digital camera from inside her uniform somewhere, and was busy taking snapshots of the documents she'd found on the table. Hopefully there was something useful there.

"The source of whatever is blocking our telepathy has to be here somewhere," said Gladiator.

Aqua's light danced about the secret room for a few moments, but they soon ascertained there was nothing else there. The only objects being concealed here were the documents Crusader was busy studying, and the crates which Gladiator was beginning to investigate.

"Annie – I mean Cr – Crusader…what do you – what do you have there?"

Crusader frowned, "I'm not sure. It looks like blueprints for a vessel of some kind…presumably it belongs to the Navy."

"I think I've found it," came Gladiator's voice suddenly.

"Found – found what?"

"The source. The telepathic inhibitor. I don't know what it is, but it must be in one of these crates."

Crusader glanced at her friends in the darkness, "Our telepathy is now completely blanked out. We can't even sense you. It's taking all our concentration just to keep our mind on what we're doing…"

The only way the two Rosiçkys had been able to keep themselves in control had been simply to 'switch off' their telepathic senses. That went some way to negating the confusing and befuddling effects of the blanketing force, whatever it was, but they were still struggling to remain on top of things. Gladiator took a step closer to the suspect crates, but he and Crusader instantly gasped, clutching their heads. He stepped back.

"We can't get any closer," he panted. "Aqua, you'll need to take a look at it."

"O – OK."

But as Aqua stepped forward, Crusader's voice broke into the silence of the secret room:

"I think we're in trouble."

"What? How can you tell?" said her brother.

"I'm looking through the walls. I think we've been discovered. Security forces are coming this way. They're heavily armed and looking murderous."

"But – but h – how – ?"

"We must have tripped an alarm at some point, probably when we opened the secret room. _Dammit_, I should have thought of that!"

"What do we do?" said Gladiator. "Kill them?"

"No!" the girls said; Crusader went on. "We'll have to just run for it. Grab everything we've found so far; I think there's enough information in what we've found."

"We _could_ just kill them. I mean, they're going to kill _us_ and probably any other mutant they get their hands on!"

"Gary!" Marina snapped, forgetting mission protocol.

"All right, all right, let's go."

But the moment they headed back into the outer office area, they felt the pressure on their minds suddenly triple as the inhibiting force increased its power. Crusader dropped to her knees clutching her head and Gladiator slumped sideways on to the carpeted floor, gasping for breath, a noise coming from his throat that was either a cry of pain or a mangled attempt at speech. Aqua looked at the two of them in dismay and consternation. Now she could hear the sounds of the security forces as they hurried towards the room. Quickly she knelt by her friends and shook them, "A – Annie? Gary?"

With a supreme effort of will, Crusader opened her eyes and forced herself to speak, "Marina, run! Just run!"

"No, I – I can't leave without you!"

"We can't make it!" Crusader hissed fiercely, grabbing hold of Aqua's wrist. "Just go! Here! Take all the evidence we have and show it to the others! _GO_!!"

Pushing the digital camera into the younger girl's hands, Crusader finally lost her battle against the overpowering force buffeting her mind, and she fell limp and unconscious. Gladiator was already the same way. Aqua looked at the two of them in horror, and knew she had only one choice.

"FREEZE!!" yelled the first of the humans as they entered the room, weapons raised and trained on her heart.

Aqua reacted in an instant, doing the only thing she could think of, summoning the water she could feel flowing in the house's plumbing system. Pipes exploded on both sides of the room and gallons of water spewed out into the office. Taking hold of it with her power, Aqua used it as a tidal force to push the onrushing men away from her. Caught off guard, they were swept off their feet and down the corridor. The water girl turned her attention to her friends. She had mere seconds to get them out of here before the men returned. Grabbing hold of Gladiator's arms, she tried to lift him over her shoulders. Grimacing with the effort, Aqua eventually conceded defeat. She had not the strength to carry her boyfriend to safety. There had to be another way.

Of course. The water. It was still shooting out of the pipes at either side of the room, and she took control of it once more. She could use the water to move her friends and get them to safety. And then what? How far could she take them? Back to where the car was hidden? What then? Aqua couldn't drive, and the security men would almost certainly have other plans regarding her friends. She looked up in despair as she saw the men had got to their feet more quickly than she had anticipated, and were charging back inside the room. Angrily Aqua hit them with another flood of water, but this time she sent herself with it, riding the waves like a surfer, kicking the first man in the jaw and sending him flying backwards, blood pouring from his mouth. She couldn't have hit him that hard under normal circumstances, but using her water power she was able to add to the force of her blow. The other men were on her in an instant, firing their weapons indiscriminately towards her.

Their weapons did not function in water, and it was a good few moments before they realised that. In that time Aqua had already dispatched two more men by firing powerful jets of water that knocked them back harder than any punch. Both fell unconscious in the corridor outside, and the others backed away a step or two while they considered their strategy. The first man she'd knocked out had obviously been their leader, and without him they were a little hesitant. Then something occurred to Aqua. Glancing back inside the room, she realised with horror the mistake she was making. The room was flooding and her friends were going to drown!

_What am I going to do?_

_I can flood the house and get my friends out._

_But then everybody else in the house will drown!_

_They can take their chances. My friends are more important._

_No, I can't kill anyone._

_But I can't leave my friends!_

The men were back on their feet, and Aqua quickly summoned a wall of water to rise in front of them, freezing it into ice to block the doorway. That gave her another couple of minutes to try and decide what she should do. Flooding the house would let her use her water powers to get her friends to safety, but it would more than likely mean that everybody else in the building would drown. While killing the admiral and his security force was arguably acceptable, there was no justification for drowning any of the innocent guests or staff members who were also here. Flooding the house was out of the question. The only other alternative, seemingly, was to make a break for it on her own, and leave her friends to fend for themselves. She looked at the two fallen Rosiçkys. Neither was moving; neither appeared to be conscious. Aqua hurried over to them.

"A – Annie?" she said urgently, shaking her friend's shoulder.

Getting no response, she tried her boyfriend, "Gary?"

Neither reacted. Aqua looked up and saw that the humans were in the process of breaking through the ice barrier she'd put over the door.

_I have to go. I have to leave them._

_I can't do that! I can't leave them!_

_Annie told me to go. If she told me to leave them behind, that's what I have to do._

_I'm abandoning them to save myself, just as I abandoned my family to save myself._

_No! There's no other choice!_

_But how can I escape? I can't use the car! I don't know how to drive!_

_The house must have a water supply. It probably leads to the ocean. I can swim along the coast and back to the school._

_Yes, that's the only way to escape._

_But I can't take Annie and Gary with me. They wouldn't survive._

_Yes. I have to go. There is no other way. Either they get captured or we all get captured._

_I'm going._

The guards were nearly through the ice wall now. Her hand shot out and in an instant the ice had melted and evaporated into steam. The startled guards jumped back to avoid being scalded, and in a flash Aqua darted out past them. Nobody saw her go, and she hurried through the darkened corridors to an empty room where she took refuge. Once the steam had cleared, the men cautiously entered the room. Needless to say, they were more than slightly perplexed at finding no trace whatsoever of the girl they'd been attempting to apprehend a moment ago. They bound the two unconscious mutants on the floor and were just wondering what they should do with them, when another man entered the room.

"Admiral, sir," the lead security man greeted him.

McKenzie did not return the courtesy, "You've detained the intruders?"

"Two out of three, yes sir."

"And the third?"

"Uh – her status is unknown, sir. We'll begin a search immediately. She'll be found, sir."

"For your sake, I hope so. In the meantime, get these two and your men out of my office."

The security force efficiently carried the two unmoving forms out of the room, and McKenzie entered his office. He noted with dismay that the water pipes had burst, and most of his expensive furniture was wasted. Oh well, he'd just have to order more. It wasn't as if he didn't have enough money to do so. He was about to sit at his desk and check the computer for damage, when a second man stepped silently through the doorway. The door closed behind him.

"Eight," said the newcomer.

McKenzie looked up, "Ah – One. I was just – what do you think this intrusion was about? Do you think somebody is on to us?"

But what One thought, he did not share with Eight. Instead he moved past him into the secret room, and knelt down to examine the crate that sat in the corner: the source of the telepathic inhibitor.

"I really must congratulate Twelve," he said, more to himself than anyone else. "Her work exceeds even my expectations."

"But how did you know the mutants would come here?"

One glanced at him, "Oh, they're pathetically predictable. These ones that call themselves the X-Men, I've been watching them for years. They think they're saving the world, when all they're doing is – what is the expression – oh yes, 'dancing to my tune'."

"But these were only two. Where are the rest?"

One laughed, "The rest have separated and gone to save the world from further terrorist atrocities. They don't realise that this was my intention all along, and the whole reason behind the attacks was to separate them and to get them to go where I want them to."

"You mean – "

"Yes, of course. They're all walking into a trap. When they are taken care of there will be nobody left to stand in my way."

Eight spoke uncertainly, "Are you sure you aren't underestimating them? I mean, they stopped the Apocalypse…"

One waved his hand dismissively, "They merely saved me the task of removing the Apocalypse myself. Yes, the Horsemen were a useful tool, but everything only exists to serve its purpose. Indeed, to serve my purpose."

At that moment there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," said Eight.

One of the maids pushed open the door and said, "Major Devant is here, sir."

She stepped aside, and a third man entered the room. The maid closed the door, and One raised his eyebrows, "Nine. A successful mission, I trust?"

Nine pushed away memories of the agonising pain that felt as if it had been tearing his head apart, and swallowed nervously. He had never had to confess failure to One before.

"The mutants…they, uh, well, things didn't go as we planned."

One's eyes narrowed, "Explain."

"Well, we assumed that, uh, that the mutants had left their school, the adult ones anyway. It seems we were wrong."

"How many men did you lose?"

"I – uh – I'm the only survivor, sir…"

"_What_?!" Eight yelled.

"Are you being serious?" One demanded icily.

And One pushed the first tendrils of choking panic away. What if the X-Men hadn't fallen for his trap? What if they'd been in their school all along, anticipating the attack? No. That was impossible. There was no way they could have known it was coming. But still…what had he overlooked?

"What went wrong?" he asked.

"I don't know, sir. We had overcome all resistance and were ready to begin exterminating the, uh, the targets. Then it happened. I don't know what it was. It was like something was tearing my head apart from inside. It happened to all my men; it killed them. I barely got away, sir."

_Telepathy_, One thought instantly. That was what he'd overlooked. He'd forgotten that telepathy, if powerful enough, could be used to fry a person's mind. But this made no sense. His old friend Xavier was long dead, and Xavier was the only telepath who had ever had the power to…

Or was he? Was there another? Was there somebody he had overlooked entirely?

Of course.

Rosiçky.


	14. Chapter Thirteen: The Demon's Master

Marina watched as her friends' unconscious forms were carried out of the office. She wanted to follow and see where they were being taken, but it was too dangerous. She couldn't afford to be caught. She was the only one who knew what had happened here, and thus she was Annie and Gary's only hope of rescue. If she too was captured, there might never be any rescue. She had to wait for her moment to escape from this house, and get back to the school as fast as she could. She couldn't drive the car – she had no idea how to – but if she could get to the coast, she'd swim most of the way.

She crouched in the darkness and watched the three men leaving the office. One was the admiral; his picture had been amongst the stuff on Fliss' computer. The second looked military. She could tell little about the third. He looked old, but at the same time he didn't, almost as if…she couldn't think of any way to describe it in words. He walked with poise and it was obvious the other two deferred to him. This worried Marina. As far as she knew, Admiral McKenzie was the one responsible for her family's death. He was the one to blame. He was the great evil who had taken her life and torn it up and destroyed it and left her an empty shell who would be agonised for ever and ever. What she was seeing here seemed to suggest otherwise. Who was this man, that even McKenzie obeyed him? Marina's curiosity got the better of her, and cautiously she began to follow them.

The three men had stopped up ahead and were discussing something. This was too good an opportunity to miss. Keeping in the shadows, hoping her black uniform would conceal her, Marina pulled out the tiny digital camera which Annie had slipped to her just before being knocked out by – well, Marina had no idea what it was that had affected her friends so badly. Focussing on the three men, she took two photographs. If she took these back to the school, maybe they could identify the third man from the pictures. Maybe the others would know who he was.

There was water flowing in the plumbing pipes all around the house. Marina could feel it just inside the wall she was crouched beside. It would only have taken a flick of her wrist and a surge of her water power to send a flood towards the admiral who had murdered her family. The temptation was overwhelming, but she managed to keep it subdued. Killing the man would solve nothing. It was more important to discover exactly _why_ he'd done it. Maybe after this mystery was solved, she could take him out into the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, a thousand miles from any land, and leave him to try and stay afloat, eventually use up his strength, sink beneath the surface, and die an agonising death by drowning. Just as her family had. Except the admiral would know what was coming. Her family hadn't. They had had no warning whatsoever, no way to prepare themselves for their imminent death. So would it be with him. Marina made up her mind. She would kill him. She didn't care whether it made her a murderess. All she could think of, all she could see, were the smiling faces of Mom and Dad and Helena and Jason and Uncle Liam and Aunt Iris and – and all of them who had died. They would never smile again.

Neither would McKenzie. Marina stood. Fate obviously agreed with her decision, as the military-looking man and the ageless man who was in charge were moving away from the admiral and heading elsewhere. McKenzie was speaking into some kind of walkie-talkie device. She couldn't make out what he was saying. It didn't really matter. The walls burst open as water pipes exploded on both sides of the corridor, showering him from both sides, knocking him off his feet and on to his back. In shock, he tried to stand, but a jet of water struck him in the face, flinging him into the wall. A tidal wave came sweeping down the corridor, engulfing him, and he fought to keep his head above water. Through the maelstrom of flood and spray strode Marina, with her eyes narrowed, her fists clenched and slaughter on her mind.

"Who the hell are you?" he demanded.

Marina's stammer was suddenly gone as she yelled, "_You destroyed my life and everyone I ever loved_!"

His eyes widened, "Oh, my – you must be…_Forrester_…"

"I'm the last one! I'm the only one you couldn't kill!" she shrieked"_Have you any idea what it feels like to see your entire family die in front of your eyes!_ _Well? Do you!_"

She clenched her hands, ready to burn him alive in a jet of steam. In the corner of her eye Marina saw movement, and she reacted just in time to avoid a thick metal spike as it embedded itself in the wall just where her head had been a second ago. She looked in the direction it had come from. There stood the man who looked old but didn't, the one who was clearly in charge around here. With a flick of his wrist, he sent another metal spike zipping through the air towards Marina's head. Reacting instinctively, she summoned a wall of water in front of her, which turned to ice, the spike impacting into that instead. Admiral McKenzie pulled a gun from inside his pocket and aimed at Aqua's heart, but she kicked it out of his hand and drove her fist into his jaw as Wolverine had taught her.

The sound of footsteps came from all directions now, men with guns arriving on the scene as if by magic, aiming their guns at Marina. The ageless man with the metal spikes smirked, and Marina knew she could stay here no longer. Flinging a flood of water at the men nearest her, she darted over their sprawling bodies and disappeared into the interior of the house. Bullets smacked into the wall as she hurried around the corner, heading for whatever exit she might find. She heard the sound of more guards approaching, and thought fast: _how am I going to get out of here?_

_There's no way out, except to kill these men._

_Wait. The water supply. That's how I was going to get out._

_Yes_!_ Of course._

She suddenly remembered one of the other pieces of equipment she was carrying. From her belt, Aqua grabbed a small flash grenade. Pulling the pin, she rolled it down the corridor towards the sound of the rapidly approaching men. Averting her eyes, she heard the men gasp at the intense bright light that dazzled them as the flash went off. Hurrying forward, past the shocked and temporarily blinded guards, she pushed out her senses, trying to track the water flowing in the pipes, trying to determine where its source was. Guided by her aquatic sense and her instincts, she headed deeper into the building. She heard voices and men running, but they were heading in another direction. They must have assumed she would run straight to the front door. She had shaken them off, for a few minutes at least.

Part of her guilt was gone now. There was no way she could have rescued Annie and Gary via the water pipes she was planning to use as an escape route. They would have drowned. Now she didn't feel quite so bad about leaving them behind. There was no other way. But there was no way she was going to leave them to whatever fate these men had planned for them. She would have to come back with the others and attempt a rescue. Marina knew it would be quite easy to rescue them right now simply by flooding the house and using her water powers to take full control of the place. The only problem was that all of the other people here would drown. Should she abandon her dislike of killing, to save her best friend and her lover? Were there times when certain beliefs, however noble, had to be sacrificed for the greater good? Could she make an exception just this once?

No. That was a dangerous path to go down. Doing something like that once would only make it all too easy to do it again, and then again, and again…killing after killing, all in the name of "a greater good". Eventually she would have forgotten that it was wrong to kill, and it would simply have become part of life. _If I have a principle, I should stick to it_, she told herself, _if I abandon it even once, I've abandoned it forever_. Some rules could not be broken. If she believed in something as strongly as she believed in the preservation of life, she could never break it. She knew Gary had killed people in the past – in self defence, or so he claimed – but Marina would never allow herself to take anyone's life. She knew all too well what it felt like to lose somebody you loved. She would not inflict that on anybody else. Already she regretted her rash decision earlier to kill Admiral McKenzie. In a way, she was glad the man with the metal spikes had stopped her.

She was getting closer to the main water source now, and she could hear voices. For a moment she panicked, but the voices were not shouting orders or commands to hunt for her; they were calm, level and clearly the sounds of normal conversation. She'd have to find the water supply without these people – whoever they were – discovering she was here. The security guards had all run off towards the front entrance and were hopefully searching for her in the garden outside. Marina moved onwards. She could hear the voices better now; they had to be just around the corner from where she was standing. Staying in the shadows, she risked a glance around the corner.

A group of people – eight or nine – stood together at a doorway, some talking amongst themselves, some glancing at watches, clearly waiting for someone or something. Marina frowned slightly. Her mental problems and troubled mind often made it difficult for her to remember things, but she was sure she recognised one or two of these people. She'd seen them before somewhere – or had she? Was it just a resemblance? Where had she seen them? On the TV, perhaps? She couldn't remember straight away, so she pulled the digital camera from her pocket and took a couple of quick snapshots of the group. Good. None of them had noticed. And she could sense the exact location of the cistern now; it was in the other direction, away from the group. She had found her way out. Now her only hope was to head back to the school, tell the others what had happened, and do whatever she could to help rescue Annie and Gary.

* * *

Night was falling over Edinburgh as the two X-Men made their way to the address they'd been given. 

"Where are we?" asked Shock, looking around in the growing darkness.

"We're in the dockyards by the river," said Shapeshifter. "We should get there soon. I think this address is one of the warehouses. It must be owned by the man my cousin mentioned."

"Horne," Fliss said, remembering the name. "Who is that? Do you know him?"

"Not personally, no. He's been in the news plenty of times. He's one of the biggest gangsters in Edinburgh. He makes my cousin look like a decent, law-abiding citizen."

"Your cousin doesn't know that you – I mean, about your – "

"About my mutant powers? No, he doesn't. I never told my family. A few of my friends knew, but I lost touch with them when I left here."

"Was it hard growing up in – well, in places like that?" she asked. "I mean, my family were never exactly rich, but on the other hand we never exactly wanted for anything either."

Chris shrugged, "When you're a child, you don't really think about things like that. Your world is the only one that exists. You assume that everybody's existence is more or less the same as your own. It isn't until you get older that you realise how different some people's lives can be."

"I've often wondered – why did you never turn into a criminal like your cousin?"

"I dunno. I'm smarter, I suppose. I realise there's more to life than just making money any way you can."

Fliss got her mind back on the task in hand, "What exactly are we looking for in Horne's warehouse?"

"I'm not sure. Any evidence we can find that links him with terrorists. We're assuming that, as before, the terrorist attack, if there is one, will be carried out by an independent militant group, supposedly acting on their own. It seems clear though that somebody is behind the scenes orchestrating these attacks. We have to try and find any evidence that leads to them."

"I don't see what we _can_ hope to find," she said. "Whoever's behind the scenes won't have made any direct contact with Horne. They'll have used the terrorists as middle-men."

"Yeah, I know. I'm hoping we can find something that leads us to the terrorists. If we can get to them before they launch the attack, we can try and find out who's hiring them."

The lightning woman sighed, "I wish we had _some_ idea of what was going on. Who's ordering these attacks? What are they trying to accomplish? Why are they doing the same thing now they did three years ago?"

"Once we find out who they are, the rest should fall into place quickly enough," Chris said. "Hang on, I think this is the place."

They stopped in front a dark shape that loomed up out of the darkness. Mist was rolling in from the ocean and visibility was reduced even further. The two mutants walked along until they found the main entrance to the warehouse. It was a large set of cargo bay doors, high and wide enough for a lorry to drive through. Next to this was a smaller, person-sized door. Fliss tried it, but it was locked. She was rolling up her sleeve and preparing to use a lightning bolt to blast the door open, but Chris restrained her, "I think it would be best if we don't leave any evidence we were here. We don't want these people to know we're on to them. Wait here."

He closed his eyes, breathed deeply, and called on his power. Fliss watched, as she had done many times, Shapeshifter's body melting and liquefying into a puddle at her feet. Once Chris was fully in liquid form, the puddle began to drift and gurgle across the ground, slipping silently through the crack at the bottom of the doorframe, between the door and the ground. A couple of minutes later, Felicity heard the sound of bolts being drawn back and locks turned, then the door opened from within. Chris welcomed her into the warehouse with a sarcastic bow and sweep of his hand. She stepped inside, and closed the door behind her.

The interior was pitch dark, but Chris managed to locate a lightswitch, and flicked it on. The warehouse was bathed with light from a series of overhead strips, and they both waited for their eyes to adjust to the brightness before looking around. The main body of the warehouse was filled with crates and boxes of various shapes and sizes: some packed together in bulk and waiting to be transported; some stacked against the wall; some seemingly randomly distributed across the floor-space. An old, rusty-looking forklift truck sat just inside the entrance on their left.

"I always wanted to drive one of those," Chris said.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Actually, what I _really_ wanted to drive was a tank, but I managed that when I was 13. My cousin – my _other_ cousin – and I broke into an army training camp."

"I don't think I want to know," Fliss said, shaking her head. "Anyway, where do we start looking?"

"There'll be an office. Yeah, I think that's it over there. That's where the records and logs will be kept."

"You think he'll have logged the sale of bombs to terrorists?"

"Not on a standard invoice, but encrypted on computer, maybe. Let's take a look."

They crossed the warehouse floor until reaching a small door set in the corner. This one was also locked, but Chris found the key on a ring lying on a table nearby. He unlocked the door and they entered. Chris immediately headed for the computer sitting on the desk inside, while Fliss faced a pair of filing cabinets that seemed to contain paper records.

"I suppose it's probably a waste of time looking in here," she said, pulling the first drawer open.

"Perhaps not. If he has logged the sale of the bombs, he'll have disguised it as something else. Try to find out if he's made any significant income in the last few days."

"Here goes," she announced, as she pulled out the first sheaf of documents.

He booted up the computer and was faced with the login screen. Clearly, he'd have to hack his way inside to find the information they wanted. The two of them worked in silence for a few minutes, until she heard Chris give a short laugh, "Gosh, who installed the security on this computer? A monkey?"

Hearing his fingers tapping away rapidly on the keyboard, Fliss hoped he was having more success than she was. If there was some logical order to the way her pile of documents was arranged, it was beyond her understanding. Horne's filing system seemed to be along the lines of "let's stuff this file in here and hope I never need it". This was going to take her a while. She began sorting out the documents between those that were definitely no use, and those that might yield something on further scrutiny.

"Ah, I think I'm in," Chris said suddenly. "I think I've found what we're looking for."

"Good."

Then his voice sounded in surprise, "What the – "

"What?"

"This can't be happening. Half the files I just looked at are gone."

"What are you talking about?"

"What – another bunch just disappeared as well! Someone's deleting files from this computer!"

"Huh? You're the only one using it!"

"Someone's obviously connected to it over the Web, and they're destroying the files!"

"Well, stop them!"

"I can't! Wait, the phone line! We have to pull the phone line!"

"Where is it?"

"It'll be – oh well, it doesn't matter now. The entire hard disk has been erased. Whoever did this wasn't messing about."

"But who – ?"

"Whoever's behind this whole mess, of course. They must have realised there was evidence against them on Horne's computer. My accessing the file must have triggered some kind of alarm. They realised somebody was on to them, and they erased the files before I could find out anything."

"Great. So what do we do now?"

Chris had finally located the phone line, and he pulled it out of the socket by the wall. Then he looked at her and said, "Well, we can take the computer back with us. It might be possible to extract some data from the hard disk even after it's been deleted."

"How is that possible?"

"Because most systems won't actually destroy data when you delete it. They simply take the disk space occupied by the data and mark it as 'free space', so it can be written over. The actual data will remain until it's written over by something else. I can try to extract it."

"We can take these files back too," she said, indicating the pile of documents she was working on. "It doesn't matter if we leave a mess here now. They already know we were here."

"Yeah. Gather them up and let's go."

"Give me a few minutes; I haven't even started on the second filing cabinet yet."

The second filing cabinet was different from the first. The first had three separate drawers that opened individually. The second appeared to have one single hinged door, presumably with shelving inside. Fliss pulled it open to begin looking through the contents. Chris had taken the computer on its side and was unscrewing one of the cover panels to get at the hard disk inside.

And then she screamed. Stepping backwards in horror, her hand over her mouth, Felicity stumbled over the computer chair and Chris caught her in his arms. She steadied herself, and got herself under control. He looked to see what had surprised her so much.

Within the second filing cabinet was the body of a man, his arms and legs bent at abnormal angles so he would fit inside. His eyes were open and staring sightlessly down at the floor. Overcoming her initial nerves, Fliss stepped forward to touch the man's skin, "Cold. But I don't think he's been dead very long. Couple of days at the most. Is it Horne?"

Chris nodded, "Yep. I guess this proves beyond any doubt that he's involved. They must have killed him to keep his mouth shut. Maybe he found out more than they wanted him to."

"I guess they'll go to any lengths to keep their secrets – whatever those might be. But I don't get it. Who _are_ these people? Why'd they hide him here, in his office? Why not dump him a hundred miles out into the ocean? Why not bury him under a thousand tons of rock where nobody would ever find him?"

"Because – " Chris said slowly. " – oh shit. I think we're in trouble."

"Why?"

"The only reason to leave him here is because they don't care if anybody finds him. Because they've got a plan in mind to deal with anybody who does."

"You mean this is a trap?"

"Yeah. My accessing the file wasn't what triggered an alarm. It was probably our entering this office that tripped a motion switch or something. They've probably got people on the way here right now!"

Fliss stiffened slightly, "Hadn't we better go?"

"I'd say so. Grab as many files as you can. I've almost got the disk out."

Working quickly, he prised the panel away from the computer, and reached inside to unscrew and pull out the hard disk. Fliss seized the small pile of potentially useful documents she'd collected, and stuffed them under her jacket. They shut the filing cabinet door, concealing the corpse, feeling that in some way it was more respectful to cover him up. Then both of them hurried out of the office and back into the main body of the warehouse.

"Is there another way out?" Fliss asked. "The main entrance takes us right back out into the dockyards. If people _are_ coming here…they'd spot us right away."

"The fog will hide us. Come on."

They ran across the floor to the small door that they had used to enter the building. Cautiously Chris pulled it open, flicking off the lightswitch to remain hidden in the doorway. He glanced outside, looked both ways. There didn't appear to be any welcoming parties. Perhaps nobody had got here yet. Perhaps there was no trap. Perhaps there was some other explanation for Horne's murder. A gang dispute maybe. But what about the deleted files on the computer? Random virus? No. There had to be more going on here than met the eye.

"Come on, let's go," he whispered.

Fliss followed him out of the doorway, keeping low in case anybody _was_ searching for them, hurrying as fast as they could along the route that would take them to the city centre. From there they could make their way to the outskirts of the city where the jet was hidden.

"FREEZE!"

The shouted command split through the silence of the night like a bolt of lightning, and in an instant powerful searchlights were shining blinding light from all directions. Armed men, mere silhouettes against the lights, appeared from nowhere to surround the two mutants. Before Chris or Fliss had a chance to react, both felt a prickling sensation at the back of the neck, and both reached back to feel a tranquilliser dart protruding from their skin. It took Chris slightly longer to lose consciousness, but in less than a minute, both Shapeshifter and Shock lay unconscious on the ground.

* * *

The van at the side of the road was white, unmarked, and looked relatively innocuous. Scores of people had already passed it that morning without giving it a second glance. Perhaps it was the van of a tradesman who was doing work somewhere nearby. Or it could be a delivery van, or a van hired by somebody moving house. It wasn't an uncommon sight in a busy Edinburgh street just after mid-day. True, it was parked in an area where parking was forbidden, but nobody paid any attention to that. Parking spaces were murderously difficult to come by in the city centre, and nobody minded if the van driver had broken the rules.

At approximately half past twelve, the van exploded, vaporising twenty-five innocent passers-by and demolishing the foundations of two tenement blocks. Eleven more people were killed in the collapsing building. Although police and ambulance crews rushed to the scene, it was too late to save anybody from the latest terrorist strike to hit a major world city. And as the police interviewed witness, it became even clearer that this _was_ a terrorist attack. The van must have been loaded with explosives, and then abandoned while the perpetrators made good their escape.

Mutants were instantly blamed in the press, and the normally quiet and liberal capital city turned almost instantly into a fuming, spitting cauldron of anti-mutant hatred. Attacks on known mutants began to increase tenfold, and vigilante groups prowled the streets, looking for anybody whose DNA was just that little bit different from the ordinary human genome.

Two hours later, the police announced they had captured the mutants responsible. Christopher Garcia, himself once a resident of Edinburgh, and the woman presumed to be his wife, as yet unidentified, were being held in top security custody. It was rumoured that special investigators would be coming over from America to help deal with the situation. As the newspapers pointed out, if these really were the mutants masterminding the terrorist operations, then the free world could sleep a little easier tonight.

Soon after that, reports began to come in from Toronto, where it seemed there had been a related incident. Two men, believed to be mutants, had been involved in a brief yet frantic battle with police forces near a major railway station. One of the mutants was armed with some kind of laser weapon, and the other with knives that sliced clean through every obstacle thrown in his path. Amazingly, no bystanders had been injured, though this was credited to the superb organisation and quick thinking of the Canadian police. The mutants had been neutralised and were being held in an undisclosed location. Clearly, the newspapers concluded, these creatures were far too dangerous and bloodthirsty to be allowed to roam free among innocent civilians.

In Sydney, Australian officials were being congratulated on the capture of Bobby and Marie Drake, described as two of the most dangerous mutant terrorists in the world. The Australian Prime Minister praised the dedication and bravery of the police forces involved, stating that they had saved untold numbers of lives from a potential terrorist attack. The newspapers heralded the couple's arrest as a major blow struck by the forces of freedom and justice, against the forces of violence and terrorism.

And in South Africa, two mutants – one described as "having the appearance of the devil himself" – had been arrested on suspicion of planning to attack a government institution. An unrelated report described the incredible weather phenomena that had been witnessed at the time of the incident. Perhaps the mutants had hoped the severe hurricanes and lightning storms would distract attention from their attack. The newspapers stated that the mutants had only one goal in mind: the slaughter of as many innocent South Africans as possible, with the added bonus of destroying an important government building to disrupt the peaceful running of the country.

All across the world, the public were assured that they were safer and more secure with the capture of these mutants. Hopefully now the terrorist attacks would stop, and the mutants would realise that their mindless hatred and desire to kill would not gain them any support or benefit in this world. They would be tracked down to the ends of the Earth if necessary and brought to justice. Those countries where mutant registration was not in effect, were urged to bring it into operation immediately, to protect their homes and their children from mutants who killed indiscriminately to further their own ends.


	15. Chapter Fourteen: A Conspiracy Unmasked

In the hangar beneath the mansion, Pyro ran an affectionate hand over the helicopter that had been the Brotherhood's for as long as he had been part of it. It was a reliable if not spectacular vehicle, and he had done plenty of upgrade work over the years to ensure it remained in good order. When the Horsemen had attacked the island, the chopper had been shot down into the ocean and given up for lost. Pyro had, however, been determined to salvage it, and had done so with the help of his students. Bringing the wreckage back to the mansion, he had spent the last month or so repairing it and bringing it back to a state of full working order. He wasn't exactly sure why he had gone to such lengths to do so. He suspected it was because, in the depths of his heart, he did not trust his new allies, and he wanted to have the helicopter as an emergency means of escape. The X-Men had reclaimed the jet that Pyro had 'borrowed' from them, and he felt more secure having his own private form of transport ready in case he should ever need it.

It had also given him the opportunity to teach his students about the mechanics of the vehicle. It was all about teaching here, really. That seemed to be the thing the X-Men valued the most. Pyro had always made sure he trained his students how to fight, but he had never possessed the desire or the wherewithal to impart any academic knowledge to his charges, unless you counted the occasional lecture on explosives or electronics (for the purpose of bypassing security systems). Now those who had been his enemies were teaching his students in all manner of fields: science; mathematics; art; literature; history; philosophy; and heaven knew what else. He'd never done anything to oppose it, of course – it made no sense to deprive his daughter or her friends of an education – but still he worried that his proteges were slowly turning away from him and towards the X-Men's way of thinking. As time went on, he saw the alliance as less of an alliance and more of a take-over, with his students being subtly brainwashed into joining the other side. He didn't know if that was the case. He didn't know what he should do about it even if it was. He didn't know if he even cared any more. He had a daughter now, and everything else seemed to have become largely inconsequential by comparison.

"Hey, Pyro!"

At the sound of the voice he looked round. Little Acceleratus was running across the hangar towards him, short of breath, grabbing his hand and tugging him towards the door, "Come on!"

"What is it?" he asked.

"I've been looking for you everywhere! Gaia wants to see you! And Oculus is there too. They said I should come and find you; they said it's really, really important!"

Caught up in the child's exuberance, he asked no more questions and allowed the little girl to lead him back up the to ground floor. She headed for the communications room, and he followed. Inside he found Oculus and Gaia. Both of them looked up when he entered, and Accel smiled proudly, "I found him! He was in the hangar!"

"That's good, honey, thank you," said Gaia, gently ushering the little girl towards the door. "You go and play now."

"OK, Gaia."

When Accel had vanished, Pyro said, "So what's up?"

It was Oculus who answered, "We have a serious problem. We've lost contact with the others."

"What, all of them? All eight?"

"Yes. At first I thought the communicator here might be faulty, but I had a look and I don't think that's the problem. I think they've been captured. And it gets worse. A terrorist strike occurred in Edinburgh less than an hour ago."

"Edinburgh? That's where Chris went, right?"

"Yes. And the human authorities are now claiming they've arrested the mutants responsible for the bombing."

"They must have captured Chris and Fliss, and think they're to blame," said Gaia.

"They also think they've uncovered evidence of a world-wide mutant terror organisation. Hence we suspect the rest of our friends have been captured as well."

"But wait a minute," said Pyro in confusion. "How did they know that our – that your friends were mutants? I mean, with the exception of Nightcrawler, it isn't immediately obvious, is it?"

"Yes, you're right. It's obvious we've been targeted. Whoever is _really_ orchestrating these terror attacks has clearly discovered that we're investigating them. They've used this latest bombing as an excuse to get our friends arrested."

Gaia added, "From here it will only get worse. Already measures are being put into place against the rest of the mutant population. All mutants in Europe, America and Oceania can consider themselves under house arrest until the full extent of the terrorist organisation has been exposed."

"Huh?"

"That's what a representative of the UN security council said half an hour ago."

"All this has happened in _one hour_? I thought the UN normally spent three days debating whether to have sugar doughnuts or plain doughnuts in their meetings."

"Of course, it's obvious this whole thing has been set up," said Oculus. "This has been planned for some time, and the ones responsible have just been waiting for the opportunity."

"Which we gave to them," Pyro said. "We walked right into their trap, didn't we?"

"It would seem that way."

"Damn you people, this is what I've been warning you about for months! This has been coming for years! The humans are trying to destroy us!"

"We still don't know who or what is behind this," Gaia argued.

"You still think Magneto's responsible?" Pyro snapped.

"It's not impossible. Think about it. A lot of mutants aren't going to sit back and have their personal liberties threatened. They're going to fight back, aren't they? This could be Magneto's way of starting the war he always wanted."

"Oh, don't be absurd. He's dead. I've got proof."

Surprise crossed her face, "Really?"

"Yeah. But we've got other things to worry about right now. We've got to do something about this."

"What _can _we do?"

"I should talk to the UN," said Oculus. "The Security Council is meeting in London. I have to go there. I think that's what the Professor would have done in my place. I have to try to convince them not to inflame this situation any further."

"Where are your friends being held? We have to get them out," said Pyro.

"We can't do that," Gaia said. "If the humans think they're being attacked – "

"Will you stop thinking about the fucking humans ahead of our own kind!" Pyro yelled. "If our friends are in danger, we have to help them, period!"

"But if the humans think they're under attack, it could make things worse! They might think we _are_ trying to start a war!"

"They've already _started o_ne! Our only choice is whether we defend ourselves or let them kill us – personally, I think I'll choose to defend myself!"

"John, violence isn't the only way to solve our problems!"

"Ever hear the phrase 'meeting fire with fire'? Violence is the only language humans understand."

Gaia shook her head, "It doesn't matter how many humans you kill, John. It isn't going to bring Jacqueline back."

Pyro's rage exploded inside of him, and before he knew what he was doing he had grabbed Gaia around the throat and pushed her up against the wall.

"_How dare you_!" he roared, his fingers beginning to tighten around her neck as if she was the one who had killed his love, as if he could somehow avenge Jacqueline's death.

"John, get your hands off me," she demanded.

As quickly as the rage had come, it left him. He let go of her, and held up his hands to show he was calm. She nodded to show it was all right. A few moments passed in uncomfortable silence, then he asked, "So what do _you_ suggest we do?"

"I – well, I can't think of anything straight away. We have to find some way to prove our innocence. We have to expose these conspirators and show that mutants aren't responsible for the bombings."

"Yeah, but how do we do that?"

"Dominic and some of your students were looking at that metal disc and trying to find some clues. Let's ask them if they found out anything."

Pyro and Gaia left the communications room and went to look for the teenagers. It didn't take long to track them down in the games room, where Gemini sat on the sofa, staring unhappily at the floor, Cassandra beside her with her arm around her friend's shoulders. The guys were keeping a respectful distance. Helios and Vertigo sat at one of the computers, while Atlas stood watching whatever they were doing over their shoulders. Little Acceleratus was there too, sitting on the floor in the corner watching one of the television sets.

"Hey, Vertigo," Pyro called.

The ninja boy looked round, and got to his feet to see what his leader wanted. As he approached he was careful to stay away from the sofa where the two girls sat.

"Look Pyro, about Gemini…" he began, quietly so nobody would overhear. "I'm sorry about what happened; I just – "

"We'll talk about that later. We've got more pressing things to worry about right now. Were you able to find out anything about that metal disc?"

"The **MUTANT FREEDOM** badge thing? Yeah, there was something…hold on, I'll be back in a minute."

The boy disappeared out the door, and Pyro turned his attention to his daughter. He managed to catch Gemini's eye, and he gave her a little smile, encouraged and somewhat relieved when she returned it.

"Is she OK?" Gaia whispered in his ear.

"I think so – for now, anyway."

"John, I don't really know how to say this, but…well, I have a daughter of my own. Sometimes when a girl's having problems, a father isn't enough. She needs to hear it from another woman. If you think it might help…"

"Yeah…yeah, I'll let you know. Thanks, Chloe."

She was the second woman who had offered to talk to his daughter from a female point of view. Was Gemini suffering from not having a mother? Were there certain things a father simply couldn't do for his daughter? He didn't know. He knew that the girl would never have a mother. He knew he was never going to marry, or fall in love again. There was a part of his heart that was closed forever and could never be reopened, because the only girl he'd ever loved had died. The only woman who had ever been anything like a mother to Gemini was Mystique, and she was…well, they were unlikely to be spending much time together in the near future.

"Hey, here it is," said Vertigo, as he entered the room.

He was carrying one of the scientific journals he'd borrowed from Scott. He put it down on the table and the rest of them gathered round. Acceleratus' curiosity got the better of her, and she switched off the TV and joined them.

"What are we looking at?" said Dominic.

"One of your boss's science magazines," Vertigo replied. "It's an article about a new metallic alloy called constantium. I was trying to tell you about it just before the school was attacked. It's a research project funded partly by the US Navy. They've created what is supposedly 'the strongest material on Earth'."

"Stronger than adamantium?"

"That seems a logical deduction."

"_If_ their claim is true."

"Yeah. Anyway, maybe this explains the disc. I mean, how it was engraved. If constantium is stronger than adamantium, which is what the disc is made of…"

"Yes…that would explain it," said Pyro. "So, if your theory is correct, whoever engraved the disc must have a supply of this constantium material. Does the article say anything else?"

"Only the name of constantium's discoverer: a Dr Cartëasis."

"That's a weird name," said little Accel.

Gemini's startled voice came, "That was – that was _my_ name…"

"Cartëasis?"

"Yeah…yeah. Back when I was – I mean, when – before I met Dad…"

"So this must be someone you know," said Vertigo. "I mean, how many people would have a weird name like _that_?"

The expected stinging retort from Gemini did not come. The spark of life was gone from her eyes, and Pyro was instantly saddened.

"Could it be somebody you knew?" he asked his daughter gently.

"I dunno…" she said. "My dad and – and his wife are dead. My sister is still alive…"

"Does she do this kind of research stuff?" Dominic asked.

"I – I really don't know. I've no idea what's happened to her since – since I was taken away. That was six years ago. She could be doing anything."

"You should talk to her," Gaia suggested. "This could give us some real information about who's making these badges. If so, it will lead us to the people directing the terrorists."

"I guess this means it has nothing whatsoever to do with Magneto," Pyro added. "He was framed, and you people fell for it right away."

Gemini's hands went to the pendant around her neck, the one Mystique had given her, "Dad, should we show them?"

"Later," he said, then turned to Gaia. "Listen, Chloe, I still say we go ahead with rescuing our – your – friends. That's the most important thing. The longer we delay, the more harm might come to them."

"Why should _we_ care what happens to the X-Men?" asked Vertigo.

"Because they're the only friends we have in a world that's determined to destroy us and our children. With them we stand a chance of surviving. Without them, I don't fancy our odds."

"So what do we do?"

"The humans have taken them captive and we have to get them back. The first thing to do is discover where they're being held. We can bet it'll be one of the highest security prisons the scum have available to them, most likely a military installation."

"Will they all be held in the same place?" asked Atlas.

"There's no way of knowing – yet. At the moment we're thinking they've all been arrested on the orders of the same group of people, so it's possible they've been taken to one single facility. Then again, keeping them separated is probably wisest in terms of security."

"Scott and Logan were in Toronto, so they're probably being held closest to here," said Gaia. "That's probably your best starting point. If we can get Scott back, he can take charge of the situation and decide where we go from there."

"So now you agree we have to get them back?"

"Provided you can do it with the minimum of violence. I think you're right about one thing: the longer we delay, the more likely they'll get hurt. OK, here's my plan. You take Gemini to meet her sister, and find out whatever you can about constantium. In the meantime we'll stay here and try to work out where our friends have been taken."

"Right. Good luck."

"You too."

* * *

Am I doing the right thing? _Will I be able to solve this problem_? _Or am I tackling this entirely the wrong way_?

Neil Rosiçky tried to calm his doubts as he prepared to leave for London.

_Will anything I do even make a difference_? _Has this gone beyond the capability of any one man to straighten it out_? _Could we have done more to avert this? Should we have seen this coming? Maybe we became complacent after defeating the Horsemen. Maybe we thought the world was safe. Maybe we thought evil had been destroyed and couldn't threaten us any more. Maybe we were all just getting ready to live happily ever after, thinking that the trial was over and there would be no more suffering._

_We should have realised – **I **should have realised – that evil can't be destroyed. It's always going to be there. Evil exists because temptation exists. Temptation exists because we have free will. Free will is our gift from God. Isn't it strange that God created something that's capable of evil? Isn't it strange that God created this beautiful world and allowed us to destroy it?_

Neil struggled to do the impossible and comprehend the infinitely superior wisdom of God. _I'm trying to understand why things are the way they are. It's like a parent giving their baby a toy to see what he does with it. God has given us free will to see what we do with it. Some will use it well, and be rewarded. On the other hand, some will misuse it, and the results are only too obvious in our world. _The more he thought about it, the better the analogy seemed. _In a way, we **are** like God's baby. He conceived us out of love and gave us life. He's given us a start in life – given us the world we live on – and is now watching us to see what we do. Just like children, we have limited control over our own existence, but our Father is always there, to help us and support us when we need it. And just as children can't understand the way adults work, we can't understand the way God works. Our minds just aren't capable of working on His level._

_And like children, we've been naïve. I remember when I was a teenager. I thought – as we all did – that evil could be destroyed simply by defeating Magneto, or Mindstorm or my father or Constantine, or whoever our enemy was at the time. We thought that by getting them out of the way, we could ensure the safety of the world. We thought that evil existed in a living form. We thought it was like cleaning out a basement simply by killing all the rats. The real world isn't like that. The real world is like cleaning out the rats in a house to try and protect the people who live there, except every one of those people has the potential to become a rat themselves. And often you can't tell when a person has become a rat. And of course, in the real world the 'rats' are as intelligent as we are, and they can fight back…_

_We can't defeat evil. It's not possible. By its very nature, it can't be destroyed. Those people, like us, who have committed themselves to fighting evil, must realise it's a never-ending battle. It's an enemy that can't be beaten. Its effects **can** be lessened, but it will always be there. It's like fighting a multi-headed Hydra. All we can do is try to cut off one head at a time, try to see where the next one is going to sprout from, then go after it before it can do too much damage. There's no way to destroy the whole beast. There's no central point, no Achilles' heel, no one single source of evil. It's part of human nature. We can't destroy it without destroying ourselves, destroying our own free will.. _

_As long as people have free will, evil will always return. What I'm about to do is one of the biggest risks I've ever taken. It may not work at all. Even if it succeeds, things may not work out the way I intend._

He sighed. _There simply is no other way._

* * *

The young woman named Melody smiled at her baby daughter as the infant looked up at her and gurgled happily. Then the young mother felt sad. If only little Athena knew. If only she knew how close the two of them had come to not seeing this day. The Plague that had spread through the Americas and killed millions, including Melody's husband – Athena's father – had so nearly claimed the lives of the young mother and tiny daughter also. Still nobody knew for certain how the Plague had been stopped. The government had suddenly announced the existence of a cure, available to all, and the human race had been saved. But Melody knew. A chance encounter with a young mutant had given her the opportunity to meet the man responsible for the creation of the Plague vaccine. Her prayers had been answered that day, as the terrible infection that was destroying her and her baby, was taken away. The man had been a mutant, a mutant called Oculus. Mutants had saved the world. Melody knew this, yet she had been sworn to secrecy. Such was her gratitude to the mutants in question that she would have done anything they'd asked. This seemed like a small price to pay for the life of herself and her child. It was obvious why they wanted to be kept secret. They were trying to run a school for mutant children, and clearly they wanted to be left in peace to do so. 

Now the question that tugged at her mind was: were those mutants connected to her sister in some way? As a teenager Melody had been told her younger mutant sister, Alexandra, had died. It hadn't been until a month ago that she'd had a shock visit from her sister. Alexandra was still alive, but Melody hadn't had a chance to talk to her. She had left just as suddenly as she had arrived. Now she wondered when she might see her little sister again. Did Alex wonder about the fact she had a baby niece? Had Alex been part of the mutant group who cured the Plague? Melody had to find out the answers to these questions. She had to find out exactly what had happened in her sister's past.

As if in answer to her wondering, the doorbell suddenly rang. Caught by surprise, Melody lifted baby Athena into her arms, and went to answer the door. Undoing the latch, she pulled it open.

"_Alexandra_!"

"Hi, Melody."

"Oh, I've missed you…" she said softly, caressing her younger sister's face with her free hand. "I've missed you so much, little sister. I can't believe I thought you were dead for so long…"

The tiny baby fixed her eyes on Gemini. Melody looked at Pyro, "Um, you're – ?"

"Her father."

"Oh – I see. Well…Alex, I was actually just thinking about you. I'm so happy you're here. Will you come in?"

They followed her inside.

"We need to ask you something," Pyro said, not wasting any time.

"What's that?"

"Your name is Cartëasis?"

"My maiden name, yes."

"What do you do for a living? Are you a researcher?"

Melody smiled, sitting down with the baby on her lap, "No. Looking after this little person is a full-time job in itself. I inherited money from my parents, so I have no need to work at the moment," then she turned to the baby, "Athena? I want you to meet your Auntie. This is Alexandra. And this is, uh, her dad."

"Can I hold her?" Gemini said suddenly.

"Sure. Be gentle with her."

Carefully Gemini took the baby from her older sister, and Melody turned her attention back to Pyro.

"You asked if I was a researcher…why was that?"

"Do you know anything about a material called constantium?"

"Con – what? No, what is it?"

"It's a new alloy that's just been created, supposedly the strongest metal on Earth. Its creator's name is Cartëasis. Does this mean anything to you?"

"Well…no."

He noticed the slight hesitation before her answer, and pressed, "Nothing at all?"

Melody frowned, "Well, that sounds like the kind of research my mom was involved in. But she died a few years back. You spoke as if this discovery happened recently."

Gemini interrupted at that point, "Dad, look, she's smiling at me!"

"That's good, honey," he said distractedly, then to Melody. "How did your mother die?"

"A boat accident. She hired a boat and went out for a cruise one day. She never came back. I guess she hit a rock or something."

Pyro was about to give the obligatory "I'm sorry" but remembering what Melody's mother had done to Gemini, he changed his mind.

"Where did she work?"

"Oh, she did some research work for the Navy. And sometimes for private investors as well. She worked in laboratories all over the country."

Gemini smiled at the baby. _I think I can see now why Cassie loves children so much_

Then Melody leaned in closer, "Sir…um, I don't quite know how to say this…are you a mutant like Alex?"

"Yes, I am."

"How did you come to know each other?"

"I saved her life."

"What _happened _to her? Where has she been all these years?"

"I'll let her tell you, when she's ready to. It isn't a pleasant story."

"Was she – were the two of you involved with those mutants who stopped the Plague?"

_Actually, we started the Plague,_ he didn't say, instead replying, "Yes, they're our friends."

"I knew it! I knew Alex had to be involved in some way! I knew she would be doing something to help fight the Plague."

Pyro said nothing. Clearly this woman had a lot to learn about her little sister. He glanced at Gemini. She was wearing what seemed like her first smile for some time, as she cuddled her baby niece. Melody looked over and smiled too, saying softly, "I'm so happy to see Alex again. I'm really grateful that you're taking care of her. I know people say a lot of bad things about mutants, but I don't believe any of it. These terror attacks on the news are supposedly the work of mutants, but I don't believe that for a moment. There's no evidence at all."

_Wow, one of the humans actually likes us_, Pyro thought sarcastically, _wonders will never cease._

"Are you married?" he asked out of idle curiosity.

"I was. My husband died. He had the Plague."

"Oh. I'm sorry" – and this time he meant it.

"Are you?" she asked.

"No. I – I would have been, but…" he sighed. "It didn't work out that way."

She saw the pain in his eyes and knew exactly what must have happened. She said nothing. Inwardly, Pyro sighed. This appeared to have been a waste of time, time they couldn't afford to waste. The Cartëasis who had developed this constantium stuff seemed to be unconnected to Gemini's family. Perhaps it was a more common name than they'd thought. Where was it from, anyway? Greece? For a second something nagged at the back of his mind, as if he was overlooking something. He struggled to make sense of it, but it was merely an idea flitting elusively around in his head. He couldn't pin it down. And they couldn't afford to spend any more time here when their friends – he was coming to think of them that way – might be in serious danger.

"I'm really sorry, but we have to go," he said to Melody.

"Already? But you've only just got here!"

"I know, I'm sorry, but there's something really important we have to do. Gemini? Let's go."

The girl, still holding the baby, looked up in dismay, but then she remembered why they had come here. Giving her tiny niece one last kiss, she handed the baby back to Melody.

"Alex, you'll come visit us again, won't you?"

"Sure, as soon as I can. I really wish I could stay longer this time."

"We have to go, honey," said her father, his hand on her shoulder.

"I know. I'm coming. I'll see you again, Melody."

"Wait, Alex, before you go – here's my phone number in case you want to contact me."

She handed Gemini a piece of paper.

"And I was going to ask: where are you staying?" said Melody.

"Um – at a boarding school."

She nodded, "The mutant school in New York?"

"You know it?"

"Yeah. I was going to ask you – maybe this is too early – but I wondered if you'd like to move here and stay with me?"

"Well…I'm, like, living with my dad."

"You could both live here. It's OK, I'm not asking you to make a decision on the spot, Alex, but think about it. Talk to your dad. And please, please come visit us again. Promise?"

"OK, I promise. We have to go now."

"Sure. Say 'bye bye', Athena."

The baby watched as Alexandra and her father left.Then she nuzzled against her mother. She was hungry.

* * *

"Did you find out what we need?" Gemini asked as they set off for home. 

"I don't think I found out anything. Your sister didn't have a clue what I was talking about. She said your mother used to do that kind of work, but she died years ago."

"Good. I'll never forgive that monster for what she did to me. How did she die? I hope it was painful."

"Your sister said something about a boat accident. Her body was never found."

"So, like, this was a complete waste of time?"

"It would seem that way, except – "

"Except what?"

"I don't know. There's something – something nagging at the back of my mind. I don't know what it is. Maybe something doesn't add up."

"You think maybe she's not dead? Like she faked it?"

"Well…maybe. I mean, that water girl – what's her name?"

"Aqua."

"Weren't her family also killed in an unexplained boat accident?"

His daughter nodded, "Yeah, I think that's right. You think maybe it's too much coincidence?"

"On one hand, yes. On the other hand, there's no obvious link between her family and yours. Perhaps it is just a coincidence."

"Let's suppose it isn't. Why would my – why would she fake her own death? What is she trying to hide?"

"It must be tied in with her research…which in turn seems to be tied in with these metal discs we keep finding. And _those_ seem to be tied in with the terrorist attacks that mutants are being blamed for."

"Well, if someone is trying to frame mutants, my mother would be a prime candidate. She hates us."

Pyro frowned, "Then again, if she faked her death to cover her tracks, why did her name appear in one of Cyclops' scientific journals where anyone could read it?"

"Maybe it slipped out by accident."

"Yeah. Or maybe she just doesn't care about secrecy any more. Maybe whatever she's planning to do is about to come to fruition, and it doesn't matter any more whether people know she's alive."

"But what _is_ she planning to do? I don't get it. What's the purpose of this whole scheme, these terror attacks? Is it just to frame mutants and get us arrested and put into research labs?"

"That's part of it, I suspect, but there must be more than that. Where does the constantium fit in?"

"To make us think Magneto is behind it," she suggested. "To throw us off the scent."

"Well, maybe. But what about the attack on the school? There must be something else going on here, something we can't see just yet. Mutants must only be part of it. We should find out who your mother was working for when she developed the constantium."

"Vertigo said it was partly funded by Navy."

"Yes…" he said. "We have to find out who the other investors were. They must be connected to this too."

"You think the Navy are involved?"

"Possibly. I'm trying to think what they intend to use the constantium _for_."

"A weapon?"

"More than likely. It's a sad fact that more than 90 of the scientific research in this country is funded by the military, for the sole purpose of making bigger and better weapons to kill more and more people."

Gemini sighed, "Like, that's why mutants should run the world. We don't _need_ weapons. We've got our powers. We'd research, like, medicine and stuff."

He smiled proudly at his daughter, "You're absolutely right."

She smiled back, and leaned across the helicopter cockpit to kiss him on the cheek. For a few minutes there was silence, until Pyro suddenly said, "Wait a minute. I've got it."

"Got what?"

"I don't believe it. It's so _simple_. Why didn't I see it until now?"

"Dad, what are you talking about?"

"I just worked out the reason for the terrorist attacks, and why mutants are being framed."

"Tell me!"

"All right. Think about it: what is the foremost thing in every human's mind right now?"

"You mean – "

"They're all petrified of further terror attacks, right? And the possibility that _they_ might be the next ones targeted, since nobody knows why the terrorists are hitting these particular cities. Another bomb might go off anywhere at any time. I can imagine _I'd_ be pretty scared in that situation. Hell, anyone would. That's when I realised: it's a smoke-screen."

"Huh?"

"Whatever your mom and these other people are planning, it clearly _has_ to be kept secret. They've started these terrorist attacks to keep the population's mind on only one thing: mutants. The human masses have no difficulty in believing that mutants are responsible for everything that's wrong with the world. Their media force-feeds that kind of propaganda to them on a daily basis. These conspirators are using us to keep the humans' attention. That way nobody will notice anything or get suspicious about what's going on. We're all too worried about the terrorists."

"Ah…I think I understand…" she said, trying to think of some analogy. "You're saying it's like they're smashing in the front door, then sneaking in through the back door while everyone goes to investigate the noise?"

"Uh – something like that, I guess. While everyone's attention is focussed on the terrorists, they're up to something else. Something that is clearly so vital it has to be kept secret. And it must be something that will affect the whole world – after all, the whole world is subject to the supposed terrorist threat."

"So it's a weapon? Something that will kill us all?"

"Perhaps. That would explain the constantium. And the terrorist attacks clearly show these people have no problems with random slaughter. But I don't see it, somehow."

"You don't?"

"No. There has to be more to it. Constructing a weapon to wipe out the Earth is pointless. Nuclear weapons already exist. They just need to steal one, like the Horsemen did."

"The Horsemen tried and failed. Maybe these guys know that."

"The Horsemen only failed because we stopped them. There was nothing wrong with their method."

"You think these guys are connected to the Horsemen?"

He shrugged, "No idea. The Horsemen obviously didn't create themselves. Somebody had to be funding Van Gaarde. Oh, honey, I'm sorry…"

She had flinched at the sound of her tormentor's name, but she recovered quickly, and tried to smile at him. Another thought had already occurred to Pyro.

"Here's another idea," he said. "Since the Apocalypse incident, virtually every country in the world has agreed to a complete ban on nuclear weaponry. There's a vote in the UN security council about it; they're meeting right here in New York tomorrow. Only ourselves and Britain are opposed to the ban. I wonder if _that's_ connected in some way. After all, our new President promised in his election bid that he _would_ outlaw nuclear weapons. He seems to have changed his mind rather suddenly, and rather unexpectedly."

"These people are controlling the _President_?"

"I don't know. I know Britain is only opposing this treaty because we are. Together the two countries can block it. I know the President has offered no clear and logical explanation for his sudden change of heart. There could be a link to our conspirators. They might have some hold over him."

"But he's got, like, the best security protection in the world! How can they be threatening him?"

"I don't know."

She seemed to shrink into her seat a little, "Dad, I'm – all of a sudden I'm really scared. What are these people trying to _do_? How much power do they have?"

"That's what we have to find out."


	16. Chapter Fifteen: The Second Wave

When they got back to the school, they wasted no time in letting Gaia know what they had deduced.

"Where's Oculus?" Gemini then asked.

"He's already on his way to London to meet the UN chiefs, to try and stop this persecution of mutants," said Gaia. "I'm not sure exactly how he plans to convince them; I suppose he must have something in mind. Though from what you've just told me, perhaps that isn't the most serious problem we face."

"Any progress on finding where your friends are being held?" said Pyro.

"Yes, we think we've found where Scott and Logan must be. We don't know about the rest yet."

"Show me."

They were in the underground level beneath the school, and Gaia led them to the meeting room. The rest of the teenagers were there, with a large map of North America spread across the table in front of them. Various smaller regional maps were scattered about the table top as well.

"We're almost certain they're here," she said, pointing to a spot on one of the maps. "It's the highest security military prison in the north eastern US."

"Not too far from the border," added Vertigo. "Not too far from here either."

"Then that's our target," Pyro decided. "Get ready to leave immediately. We'll take the chopper."

The teenagers began hurrying out of the room to prepare themselves. Gemini lingered for a moment, then followed the others. Something occurred to Pyro.

"Hey, where are Crusader and Gladiator?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," said Gaia. "I think they've gone with Marina to track down some part of her past. Something to do with the death of her family. I don't know when they'll get back."

"What, you just let your kids wander off and risk their lives whenever they feel like it, without telling you what they're doing?"

"Ha – do you want to try stopping them? Besides, they don't need _my_ protection any more. There's nothing the two of them can't handle."

Then she sighed, "John, please be careful. Don't kill anybody unless it's completely unavoidable."

"I don't think I'll have the luxury of choice, to be honest."

He headed towards the hangar to begin checking over the helicopter, to ensure it was ready to fly again immediately after their previous journey. When he got there, he saw Vertigo was already doing that, sitting in the cockpit and checking the controls. Atlas was working with the refuelling equipment. Cassandra and Gemini were loading some supplies on board. He allowed himself a brief yet proud smile. He had them well trained by now. Helios was sitting on a crate next to the chopper, the map on his knees, trying to examine the layout of the prison. Seven year old Acceleratus had appeared from somewhere, and she came running over when she saw Pyro entering.

"I'm going with you, I'm going with you!" she said excitedly.

"No, you're not, Accel. You're too little."

"I'm not too little! I wanna help!"

"You can't help. You have to stay here."

"Aw, but – "

Cassandra knelt down beside the child and said softly, "Accel, you can't come with us, honey. We need you to stay here and help guard the school. Can you do that for us?"

"Can't I come with _you_?"

"No, honey. We need you here."

Accel folded her arms crossly and stood with her back to them. Vertigo had just emerged from the helicopter and yawned, "It's ready to go, Commander in Chief."

"Good."

As bored and disinterested as he always seemed to be, Vertigo glanced over at Helios. The solar mutant had quickly changed into his black X-Man uniform, and the ninja shook his head, "Are you actually going to be wearing that?"

"That's the idea. You can have my spare one, if you promise not to get it dirty."

Vertigo snorted, "I'd rather wear Gemini's skimpy little nightdress."

"Too much information, mate. Besides, wouldn't she mind?"

They looked over as Gaia entered the hangar. Pyro asked her, "You're staying here, I guess?"

"Yes. Someone has to watch over the children," Gaia said.

"Will you be safe on your own? I mean, what if there's another attack?"

"They caught us by surprise last time. This time I can gather enough animals together to be ready to repel any assault."

"You're sure?"

"Of course. Don't worry about me, John. Please keep the teenagers safe. Good luck."

"See you later."

She stood back to watch their takeoff. Accel was helping Cassandra and Atlas to lift the last of the boxes of supplies on board. Gemini was hurrying up into the chopper's interior. Pyro felt a sudden urge to call her back, to order her to stay here where she would be safe. This was the first time since adopting her that he had been in a position of sending his proteges into danger. Every paternal instinct he had was screaming at him to call Gemini back and make her stay here. At the same time, another part of his mind was saying_: the safest place she can be is with me. I can't deny her the chance to fight for what she believes in. It isn't fair to protect her while letting the others risk themselves. It will just make her frustrated and angry, and then she'll start to take stupid risks._

The teenagers were already inside the aircraft and ready to go when he entered. Vertigo sat at the controls and with a nod from his leader, he began the takeoff sequence. As the chopper ascended through the opening hangar roof, Gaia stood below and raised her hand in a gesture of farewell. Helios was up front with the maps, and seemed to be acting as navigator.

"I hope they're OK," Gemini said softly to him.

"Who?"

"Cyclops and Wolverine. I mean, I've never really liked them in the past, but I guess they _are_ mutants, the same as us. If we can't, you know, stick together, we'll be a lot worse off. I hope they're OK."

_Yeah, if only life was that simple_, he thought, _if only past deeds could be forgiven and differences overcome so easily. If only life was as simple and one-dimensional as children think._

* * *

After the helicopter had vanished into the horizon, and the hangar roof closed above her head, Chloe turned and walked back in the direction of the elevator. There was nothing she could do now but wait. She had no way of knowing what was going to happen next. There were so many different things going on, so many different people involved, so many different parts to play…well, her part was to stay here and keep the children safe. Whatever happened, these kids represented the future of the X-Men and would hopefully be future ambassadors for human-mutant relations. No matter what Chloe and her friends managed to achieve, it would be for nothing if they couldn't bring up the next generation to carry on their work. Perhaps a day would come when there were no more humans, and all children were born with mutations. Evolution would do what Magneto had failed to do. Then the X-Men's role would change from promoting peace with humans, to trying to prevent the world's mutant population splitting into dangerous factions and starting wars against each other. Neil had predicted it would happen. He said it was inevitable, merely part of human nature. Was he right? Chloe generally trusted her husband's judgement, but she often felt dismayed by his perpetually negative outlook.

_If only human society was more like that of the animals_, she thought. _Our trouble is that we're never satisfied with what we are or what we have. After 6000 or more years of so-called civilisation, we still haven't learned the most basic things: to share; and to love each other. Animals can share. Animals don't hoard selfishly. They only take what they need. Animals don't covet each other's possessions or steal from each other. Animals only kill for food or in self defence, and they don't kill their own kind. They aren't obsessed with accumulating material things. They aren't obsessed with having power over every other animal. They only do what they need to, in order to live and care for their young. Animals will never carry out random acts of cruelty for no reason._

Well, almost never. As far as she knew, the only animals who were known to do so were the dolphins and the elephants. Was it coincidence that these were two of the most intelligent species on the planet? Were intelligent animals more likely to be randomly cruel? Did intelligence actually breed cruelty? Was it something to do with a high level of curiosity and imagination? She didn't know. All she knew was that human society could learn a great deal from the so-called lesser members of the animal kingdom. It was the animals whose help she needed to call for now: the ravens and the crows who nested nearby; the hornets who lived deeper in the woods; the spiders who spun their webs in the shades of the overhanging trees; the centipedes and other insects who lived underground; and of course her own adopted creatures that lived in her office. Chloe decided to head there first.

It was just before she reached the elevator that she found her husband walking in the other direction.

"Neil," she said in surprise. "I thought you were on your way to London."

"I am. I just need to pick up a couple of things first."

"OK. I'm going to find as many animals as I can and ask for their help."

"Yes. Good luck."

"You too."

Husband and wife came together and kissed, just for a moment or two, then they parted and went their separate ways. Chloe hit the button to signal the lift. Neil turned the corner in the direction of Cerebro, and the uniform/equipment room. She wondered idly what he was going to take with him, but her mind was soon distracted by thoughts of where she would begin searching for the various creatures she intended to summon to her side.

* * *

As they approached their destination, Pyro went into the back of the helicopter to do a quick inventory of the supplies his students had stowed on board. The first crate was full of medical supplies, in case they found their friends injured – well, Scott anyway. Logan wouldn't need any medical help. The second crate contained communicators and a small radar device that could keep track of where each of the communicators was, and thus the location of whoever possessed them. The next two crates contained explosives and demolition equipment that he'd worked hard to keep concealed from the X-Men. They'd probably have 'asked' him to get rid of it, saying it was too dangerous to have around the kids or something. He snorted. This stuff was only dangerous to those who weren't trained to use it (and those being targeted by it, obviously). He had mischievously contemplated offering to teach the kids how to use explosives, but he doubted that would have gone down too well.

The remaining crates were stacked beneath the others, in no logical structure, at the back wall of the chopper's passenger compartment. He lifted the top ones aside to get at the ones underneath. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw the small figure crouching between the lower crates.

"_Accel_!" he cried.

The teenagers glanced round. Her hiding place discovered, the little girl looked up at him.

"What are you _doing_ here! I told you to stay behind!"

"I wanted to help you!" exclaimed the child excitedly. "I heard Gaia saying she can look after the school by herself, so I came to help you!"

"You _can't_ help us, you stupid little girl! Don't you understand that? This isn't a game! This isn't like one of your fun-and-games fights with Vertigo when you can stop as soon as you get tired and he won't try to hurt you! This is _real_! These people, if they catch you, will _kill_ you! You _stupid_ kid! _Do you understand me_?"

"I – I – "

The little girl looked ready to cry. Cassandra hurried over, and Accel clutched her.

"Hey, boss, we're there," came Vertigo's lazy voice from the front, breaking the awkward silence.

"OK, I'll be right there," said Pyro, then his anger returned. "Damn it, Accel, now somebody's going to have to stay here and keep an eye on you! Why can't you just do what you're told!"

"I'll stay with her," said Cassandra. "I'll use the radar device to keep track of all of you, and act as a communications relay. You'll be less one person, but I'm not really much use in a fight anyway. I can still give you any forewarnings that I get."

"Fine. All right, the rest of you, let's get moving."

They had landed as close to the military prison as they could without being detected. There was plenty of cover to make use of on their way to the building, but once they got there they'd have to deal with guards and unknown levels of electronic security. They had no idea whereabouts in the building Scott and Logan were being held, if indeed they _were_ being held here. This would have to be a very carefully executed operation. If they went in too quickly, they'd probably be captured or killed before getting near their friends. If they took too long, the humans would call in armoured reinforcements and they would be fighting an uneven contest. This was not going to be easy.

"It's times like these I really miss Recyclo," Pyro mused.

"Ugh, I don't," Cassandra said.

"Me either," Gemini agreed.

"I don't mean him personally," he said. "I mean somebody with his electronics expertise. But, I guess we'll just have to manage without him. Atlas, Vertigo, get those crates unloaded. Helios, do we have any schematics of this place?"

"Exterior only," the solar mutant said. "Interior plans of the prison would be top security. Shapeshifter could probably have downloaded them from somewhere, but, well, he ain't around right now."

Gemini had opened up the communications crate and she was distributing the comm. units amongst them. Cassandra unpacked the small tracking unit and began setting it up to receive signals from the communicators. She counted five dots on the scope and said, "Right, I have you all being detected by the machine via your comms. Is there some way I can assign an identifier to each dot?"

"Yeah, I'll show you," said Helios, moving over close to her.

Acceleratus had retreated into the corner and huddled there, glancing unhappily at Pyro. When he returned her gaze, she looked away quickly. He felt a little guilty for yelling at the seven year old, but she _had_ to realise just how dangerous this mission was, and how stupidly she had acted. He blamed the X-Men, for bringing these children up in a sheltered environment where the kids thought everything _was _just a game and nobody would try to hurt them. Obviously he had fully intended to bring Accel on a mission some day, but not until she was at _least _ten, and even then she would only be allowed to watch.

"This looks like our best point of entry, wouldn't you say?" Helios asked him, poring over the map again. "After we get past the fences we'll be inside the compound. We can approach unseen from this direction – I don't expect there'd be too many guards there, do you? – then we can gain entry from here. If we get in trouble, all we have to do is guard our retreat _here_ – then make a run for the chopper."

Pyro glanced at it. The kid seemed to know what he was talking about, and there appeared to be no immediately apparent and superior route.

"Yup, let's do it," he agreed.

Then he glanced over to see Gemini putting together some small explosive devices from the supply crates. Accel was watching her wide-eyed.

"Honey, you will be careful, won't you?" he said a little anxiously.

Gemini gave him a strange look, as if to say: of _course_ I'm being careful; I'm not exactly going to fool around with this stuff, am I?

"Can I help you do that?" Accel asked her curiously.

"What? No, of course you can't, Accel. You don't know how to use this stuff."

"It doesn't look _that_ hard. All you're doing is just putting some wires in some modelling clay."

Gemini sighed, "This isn't modelling clay, Accel, it's plastic explosive. It's really, _really_ dangerous and you must never, _ever_ touch it, OK? Look, just – will you just go and talk to Cassie, all right?"

"Ready to go, boss. Looks clear," said Vertigo, who had been outside surveying the terrain ahead.

Pyro nodded, "Right. Let's go. Cassandra, let us know if you see anybody headed for the prison, even if you don't think we're likely to bump into them."

"Sure thing, chief."

"Accel, you stay here and be good, OK? Don't touch anything and don't leave the helicopter. If you do, you'll be in serious trouble. Got that?"

"Yes!" the child snapped resentfully, stamping her foot to show her anger.

Cassandra spoke softly to her, "You can help me with the radar box, honey. Come and look. These dots represent each of our friends. See? The dots are moving to show where our friends are…"

The other five lost track of her voice as they moved away from the helicopter.

"All right, we can't move in a group, we'll be too conspicuous," said Pyro. "We'll split up into pairs. I'll go on my own."

Helios and Vertigo instantly gravitated together. Both quick-witted and sharp-tongued, they had become fast friends almost immediately after the alliance was formed. If there was a practical joke being played in the school, they were guaranteed to be mixed up in it somewhere, as instigators, advisors, suppliers, or, most likely, perpetrators. That pairing left Gemini and Atlas together, but both of them were happy enough with that. Slowly, cautiously, the five of them began to move towards the prison building, keeping under cover as much as they could. There was no sign of any patrols or surveillance equipment this far out, but once they reached the first perimeter fence, things would start to get a lot more difficult.

Helios and Vertigo paused in the shelter of a small concrete building, and waited for the others to catch up with them. Glancing overhead, Vertigo noticed a set of wires attached somewhere on the top of this building, stretching over the two chain-link fences and connecting to something else inside the prison building itself. An idea began to brew in his head. Yes, the wires were fully taut. He nudged Helios, "Hey, look up there. I bet you I can walk across that wire straight into the prison."

"Bet you can't."

"Yeah? Ten bucks?"

"You're on, mate."

Something in his friend's voice made Vertigo instantly suspicious. Helios seemed too confident. Then Helios stepped aside to reveal a sign on the side of the building. **WARNING, **it read, **FENCES AND OVERHEAD WIRES ARE PERMANENTLY ELECTRIFIED**.** CONTACT IS DEADLY**.

Helios grinned, "Ten of your American dollars, my good man."

"Cheat."

"Braggart."

"Limey."

"Yankee."

"Monarchist."

"Warmonger."

"Imperialist."

"Oil-drinker."

"Glorified light-bulb."

"Sentient rubber band."

Gemini snapped from beside them, "Oh, grow up! Failing that, at least shut up!"

The two of them exchanged glances and grinned.

"Dad, they're not taking this seriously!" the girl complained. "Make them shut up!"

"Well, a bit of humour does relieve the tension," said Pyro. "Believe it or not, I was exactly like that once."

"I can believe that," said Helios.

"What is it about men?" Gemini wondered. "The more you like each other, the more you insult each other."

"Never mind," said her father. "We have a job to do."

They had reached the first of the fences, at least twelve feet high and, as they now knew, pulsing with electrical current. Any contact with it would prove instantly lethal.

"Atlas? Can you make a tunnel underneath?"

The earth mutant knelt down and put his hands on the ground, trying to get a feel for the density and constitution of the land beneath their feet.

"No good," he said. "There are metal plates beneath the surface. They must have put them in place to prevent tunnelling."

"Yeah. Well, we'll have to find another way."

"What if we turn off the power for the electric fence?" Gemini suggested.

"The controls will be inside the prison. Helios? Can you melt a hole in the fence?"

Dominic glanced up at the sky. The sun was behind cloud. He shook his head. Gemini sighed. Vertigo slouched. An idea sparked inside Pyro's brain. He looked at the ground, then at Atlas, then at the fence.

"Right, I've got it. Everybody stand back."

* * *

Scott Summers slowly and painfully regained consciousness. His memories floated about in pieces, and he struggled to remember what had happened. Where was he? Oh yeah. He'd been captured. His head pounding, he stirred and tried to get his bearings.

"Scott, don't open your eyes!"

A woman's voice. His confused brain misfired for a moment, "Jean?"

Then he thought more clearly, "Rogue? Is that you?"

"Don't open your eyes! You haven't got your visor on and I'm stuck right in front of you and I can't move!"

He began to think logically. He couldn't move his arms or legs, and he felt like he was tied down. Keeping his eyes closed, it wasn't easy to get any idea of his situation. Was he upright or horizontal? His co-ordination was shot.

"Where are we?"

"I don't know."

"Rogue, I can't see anything. Describe it to me."

"OK, I'm guessing it's a cell of some kind. Square-shaped room, metal walls and floor. There's no furniture except these two things we're tied to. I'm right in front of you. If you open your eyes you'll kill me."

"Right, I get the picture. What happened to you and Bobby? Were you captured?"

"Yeah! It was an ambush! It was strange; it was like they knew we were going to be there in advance. As if they were waiting for us."

"Yes. The same thing happened to us."

"Scott, I don't get it! Who are these people? How do they know so much about us? Look at the way they've got us tied up here!"

"I can't see anything."

"Right, sorry. I mean, they've got you stuck so you'll kill me the moment you open your eyes! My hands are tied in such a way that if I move them at all, I'll be touching your face and I'll drain you! I can't get out of my bonds. Damn, they thought of _every_thing."

"What about the others?"

"I dunno. I woke up some time ago and I've not seen anyone else."

"I guess Neil was right. Whatever is going on runs much deeper than the terrorist attacks. Do you think the whole point was to lead us into a trap?"

He was talking to himself more than anything else, and he wasn't listening to any response she might have made.

"Scott, what are we gonna do? We have to get out of here!"

"OK. Rogue, don't panic. Now, remember I can't see anything. Am I still wearing my uniform?"

"Yeah. We both are."

"Right. In my shoulder compartment there's a spare visor, unless it's been taken. I can't move my arms. Do you think you can get at it?"

"I can try – but if I touch you by accident then I might kill you. Even if my power doesn't kill you right away, the shock will make you open your eyes, and _you_'ll kill _me_."

"Let's try to avoid that eventuality. Just be careful. Keep your hand steady. I know you're nervous, but don't panic."

"OK…here goes…"

* * *

Fliss knew she dared not move a muscle. There really had been a cruel ingenuity in the mind that had conceived her prison cell. She had woken to find herself tied to two giant electrodes that hung from the ceiling. Through them flowed a gigantic electric current, to which her power made her immune. The same was not true of the unconscious figure of Kurt, who hung limply at the other side of the small room. He too was tied to a pair of hanging electrodes, which were currently redundant, but Fliss knew that if she did anything to disturb the electrical current that flowed harmlessly through her, then it might well jump to the second circuit and electrocute Nightcrawler. In short, she couldn't move. Working her hands free of the ropes that held them would have been easy enough, but if she let go of the electrodes then Kurt was dead.

Besides the electrodes, there was nothing else in the room. There had to be some way to get out of here. Their only hope seemed to be for Kurt to teleport himself free of the second pair of electrodes. Once he had done that, he was in no danger of electrocution, and Fliss could free herself. Then the two of them could try to work out some way of getting out of this damn place. Without any way to open the door from inside, of course, that was going to be difficult, and Kurt couldn't teleport without knowing where he was going, but there had to be _some _escape. The only problem with that plan was: Kurt wasn't showing any signs of waking. Perhaps he had been sedated. Perhaps that was the whole point, so he _couldn't_ teleport anywhere. Fliss sighed. There was nothing she could do but wait; wait for him to wake, or for someone else to find them.

* * *

Logan had lost count of the number of times he had sworn and cursed whoever was responsible for his current predicament. With a set of claws that could cut through – well, anything – he had always assumed it was just about impossible to imprison him anywhere. There was no binding or wall that he could not force his way through. Of course, he had never considered the possibility that someone might wire up a huge magnet and attach him to it. That was how he had found himself when he had come to not long ago, spread-eagled on the surface of a giant magnetic surface. His adamantium skeleton was irresistibly attracted to the metal, and there wasn't a thing he could do about it. Twisting his head around to get a better view of the room, he had seen nothing – no power sources or suchlike – that he might destroy to turn off the magnet. _Fuck_, he hated this. The frustration, the helplessness, the inactivity – the fact that it was his own metallic 'bones' that were holding him prisoner. So often they had saved his life and those of his friends during battle. This was an irony he simply couldn't stomach. He was a simmering, spitting ball of rage, ready to leap on and dismember whoever had done this to him. At least he knew who had to be responsible. It _had_ to be Magneto. Nobody but that bastard would have come up with the idea of using a magnet to imprison Logan.

* * *

Wearing an amused expression, the ageless man known as One folded his arms as he watched the screen in front of him, showing the five figures stealthily approaching the prison building. He had to admit, their method of getting over the fences had been fast and impressive. Even though he knew about the earth mutant, he hadn't anticipated the boy pulling up enough rocks and dirt and piling it up until they had a ramp to climb safely over the fence. Clearly, this enemy was ingenious, and that was good. A challenge was always welcome. He turned to one of his men, "They're coming. Get ready. Block any transmissions they try to make."

* * *

Acceleratus had been so intrigued by the radar box that she hadn't bothered Cassandra with any questions or requests to play games to pass the time. Children her age normally got bored easily, and Cassandra was thankful to have found something to occupy the little girl so successfully. She smiled as she glanced at the little figure who knelt in front of the machine, brow furrowed in concentration, one of the maps open beside her, trying to work out how to plot the radar data on to the map to work out where their friends were. Cassandra had then begun unpacking and sorting out some of the medical supplies, expecting that they might need them when the X-Men were pulled out of the building.

Suddenly, completely without warning, she had a fore-flash. Into her mind burst an image, and she stumbled and fell on to her hands and knees with the shock of it. Gasping for breath, she felt Accel's hand on her shoulders, the child asking, "Cassie, are you all right?"

Cassandra ignored her and tried to piece together the image in her mind. Her friends…they were in danger…they were about to be attacked! Gently pushing the little girl aside, she hurried to the radar box, picking up the communicator mike.

"Pyro!" she cried into the mike. "It's a trap! You're going to be attacked! _Get out of there_!"

She waited for a response, but there was none.

"Pyro? Anybody?"

"Hey look, the dots are gone."

Accel was pointing to the screen of the radar box, where the dots representing their friends had vanished.

"Damn it, our signals are being blocked!" said Cassandra. "We can't tell them they're in danger!"

"What are we going to do, Cassie?"

"I have to go and warn them! I might still be able to get to them in time! If they get captured, we might never get them back!"

"Let's go!" the child said excitedly.

"No, you're staying here. Accel, _don't_ argue with me! _Please_!"

Perhaps the little girl sensed just how desperate Cassandra really was, but for whatever reason she complied, "OK, Cassie."

Cassandra kissed her lightly on the forehead, then threw open the door and jumped down on to the ground outside, running towards the prison compound. She _had_ to find her friends! She _had_ to warn them!

* * *

"Here comes another one, sir."

"Ah yes, that will be the foreseer. Neutralise her."

* * *

Fear coursing through her veins, Cassandra did not react in time when she received another fore-flash. From hidden positions, two men appeared, holding rifles and aiming them directly at her head. Before she could move, speak or even think, a tranquilliser dart shot into her neck. Her world swam for a moment or two, then she collapsed.

* * *

"We got her, sir."

"Excellent."

"The others are being subdued, sir. But I think they managed to get a signal out, despite our attempts to jam them."

"No matter. Any other possible reinforcements would have accompanied the foreseer."

"Right, sir."

"Ha. So much for the second wave. What on Earth did Charles Xavier teach these people?"

* * *

Acceleratus jerked up in surprise as the radar box began talking. She looked over to see the dots had reappeared on the screen, and Pyro's voice was coming out of the speaker. She ran over at once.

"Cassandra? _Cassandra_!" he was yelling. "We're in trouble! I think we've run into a trap! _Get out of there_!"

Accel had seen Cassie speaking into the microphone, so she knew how to use it. Picking it up, the child said, "Pyro?"

"Accel? Where's Cassandra?"

"She's gone to warn you! She said you were in danger!"

"Accel, get out of there! The helicopter's emergency auto-pilot is programmed to return to the school! I've showed you how to activate it! _Accel, get out of there_!"

"No, I'm coming to help you!"

"ACCEL, NO! DO NOT – "

But then the signal went dead. There was no doubt in the seven year old's mind as to what she was going to do. She had to help Cassie and the others. That was why she had come here. Pyro didn't think she could do it, but she was going to prove him wrong. She wasn't afraid. If anyone tried to hurt her she could just run away and they wouldn't be able to catch her. She had to find Cassie and make sure she was all right. Accel made sure her shoes were tied, then she stood, and hurried to the door. Climbing out of the chopper on to the ground outside, she began running in the direction she had seen Cassandra going.


	17. Chapter Sixteen: High Speed Chase

"OK, I think I've got it!"

"Right. Be careful. Don't drop it whatever you do. Hold it in front of my eyes."

"It's there. You can open them."

Scott opened his eyes at last, and saw through the ruby lens of the spare visor. Rogue was trapped in front of him, mere inches between the two of them. Behind her he could see a door, presumably locked, but presumably the way out of here. Finding the visor had been the first step towards their escape, and from here he could see how they would proceed.

"What do we do now?" she asked.

"OK. You're going to have to angle the visor so I can blast through the ropes that are holding you down. Once you're free, you can untie me and we'll both be free. I can blast the door open and we'll be out."

"Gee, Scott, I dunno. What happens if I hold it at the wrong angle and you blast a hole in _me_ instead?"

"There's no other way. I can't turn my head. I'll help you work out the angle."

"But you can't see!"

* * *

Running as fast as she could and trying to keep out of sight, Acceleratus had made it to the prison building, and – as far as she knew – without being seen. Up ahead she could see two or three men with guns. They were dragging Cassie, who appeared to be asleep. Had they hurt her? Accel wanted to run over and help her friend, but she knew attacking the men would be a bad idea. They had guns. _It's not that I'm scared_, she told herself, _I'm not scared of anything. But they might hurt Cassie. I'd better follow them._ She increased her speed as the men approached the prison entrance, dragging her friend behind them. The door was closing. Accel went flat out, accelerating at almost an exponential rate, until she was little more than a blur, zipping through the doorway just before it closed behind the men. 

One of the guards dragging the limp mutant teenager frowned, "You hear somethin'?"

The other shook his head, "Just the wind, man."

"I guess. Where we takin' this one?"

"Detention West, cell G7. Didn't you read our orders?"

"Course I did. What I don't get is why we have four separate detention areas. Why don't we just have one big area?"

"Because, duh, we have to keep the freaks separated. If they're all together, they're more dangerous."

"But they're locked up!"

"It never hurts to take precautions. You want to tell the boss he's doing it wrong? Go right ahead."

"Ah, forget it."

_Detention West, cell G7_. Crouching in her hiding place, Accel repeated the words in her mind to make herself memorise them. That had to be where the baddies were taking Cassie. _Detention West, cell G7._ _How do I get there_?_ Is there a map_?_ Should I follow them_? She suddenly realised just how much she missed having an adult or a teenager around to make decisions. Accel didn't know what she should do. She knew that if she wanted to follow the men, she'd have to do so immediately before they turned the corner and disappeared. Looking around carefully to make sure there was no-one else about, she got to her feet and hurried after the baddies.

She did not get far, before something grabbed her arm and yanked her back.

"What are you doing here, kid! How did you get in!"

Accel twisted round to face the angry and confused guard who held her in a vice-like grip, and she struggled to free herself.

"Let me go!" she demanded.

"Are you Captain Baker's kid? You can't be in here! You know you're supposed to wait in his office until he gets back!"

"Where are my friends? What have you done with them?"

The man was getting suspicious now. This couldn't be Captain Baker's daughter. She wasn't American, for one thing. And he knew of no other officers whose children might be here. But how the hell else had a tiny little girl found her way into this high security facility?

"Kid, what are you talking about? Hey, get back here!"

She had managed to pull free, and was accelerating away even as he reached out to try and grab her once more. Running in the direction she had seen Cassie's captors go, Accel knew she was in trouble. She didn't know what to do. Her only hope was to find Cassie or Pyro or someone else who would know what to do. Accel was scared and once again she realised how badly she wanted someone older who she could rely on to look after her. What would these humans do if they caught her? Would they hurt her? Pyro said that humans hated mutants, so she guessed they probably _would_ hurt her. She couldn't let herself be caught.

Accel glanced over her shoulder, to see the angry human guard in hot pursuit. Frightened, she quickened her pace and the gap between them began to grow. She knew she would tire herself out by going too fast; she had to find somewhere to hide. Maybe if she hid, and they couldn't find her, they'd give up. Then she could try to find Cassie.

"Hey! Grab that kid!" the man yelled.

There were more baddies up ahead, and they reached towards her as she approached. Accel raced past them in a blur, zig-zagging across the corridor to avoid their grasp. They snatched only at thin air, and she ran on.

"That kid's a mutant! There's a mutant loose!" she heard them yelling.

"Activate security doors!"

From the ceiling above, a thick see-through barrier began to descend right in Accel's path. She knew if she was caught underneath, she'd be crushed, and if she was stuck on this side, the baddies would get her. _No_!_ I can't be caught_! _I have to save Cassie_! _I have to make it past this_! There was only one choice. Accelerating towards the barrier, she knew she wasn't going to make it in time. Wait! She knew what to do! Vertigo had taught her how! Just as the barrier was about to touch the floor, Accel threw herself forward into a diving roll, her body curling into a ball as she zipped underneath the falling barricade. Once safely on the other side, she uncurled and looked back to see what the baddies were doing. They were hurrying towards the barrier too, but they were too slow.

"Too slow, sub-creatures!" she yelled at them.

Cassie had to have been brought this way. There was no other way those other bad guys could have taken her. Accel started running again, hoping to find her friend. As she flew past, she noticed a sign on the wall that bore the words: **Detention West**. Accel was a good reader and she also saw the arrow pointing to the left. She remembered that was where Cassie had been taken. She went that way. Accel's heart gave a leap when she saw Cassie! The two bad guys dragging her were up ahead. She'd caught up with them! All she had to do was rescue Cassie, and then let her take over the situation.

Up ahead, however, Accel saw another problem. There was some kind of circular room with glass walls. She'd seen it in films and TV programs, and she guessed it was a security thing to keep people from escaping from the prison rooms. It was some sort of – what was that thing called? Oh yeah, an airlock. The men pulling Cassie stepped inside, the door closed behind them, and a few moments later another door opened in front of them.

_I can't get through there_!_ They won't let **me** get through the airlock_!

Rushing footsteps told her that there were more baddies behind her. No! This wasn't fair! She had so nearly saved Cassie, but now she was just going to get caught again! She hurried towards the airlock and tried to pull the door open, but it wouldn't move. She had no idea how it was controlled. She looked around for a button or something that might open it, but there was nothing. The chasing humans had turned the corner and were heading straight for her. Overcome with fright, Accel just wanted to curl up and cry.

She forced herself to stay calm. There had to be something else she could do. What would Cassie or Pyro do in this situation? Well, they wouldn't panic. That was the first thing. They'd stand their ground and fight the bad guys. Accel told herself she had to do the same. Cassie was depending on her for rescue. There were three men running towards her, and she turned to face them.

"Get her!"

"Hold it right there, kid!"

She clenched her tiny fists, "Come on, I'm not scared of you!"

The men were taken by surprise as the tiny girl ran towards them, and as such they had no time to react when she suddenly ducked down and squeezed between them, heading for the small opening she'd noticed at the base of the wall. Accel dropped down on to her hands and knees, and crawled inside.

"The vents! She's gone into the vents!" one of the men yelled.

"This is a priority alert! We have a mutant loose in the ventilation system! Guard every vent opening on the outside of the building!"

Accel did not stay to listen to any more. She was already hurrying through the small tunnel as fast as she could. Far too small for an adult to fit into, it was just the right size for a seven year old girl to crawl through. She had to find Cassie. She didn't know where this crawlspace was going, but she hoped it might take her towards Cassie. It was dark inside the tunnel, and she had every child's natural fear of the dark. She didn't let it overwhelm her though. Cassie was depending on her. Maybe they all were. She couldn't afford to be scared.

* * *

On hearing the footsteps hurrying down the corridor towards her, Chloe Rosiçky's initial reaction was one of fear. The footsteps were too loud to be any of the children – could it be more attackers? No. Surely the flocks of ravens she had asked to watch the estate from above would have alerted her. She stood, moving across her office towards the window. She'd asked the ravens to form a diamond formation in the sky if any attackers approached the mansion. There was no sign of any such shape. The birds were still flitting around the sky scanning the ground. Presumably there was no danger. Nevertheless, she could not assume anything. She walked over to reach into the baby cobra's box and lift out the snake. Stirred from its sleep, the serpent moved sluggishly along her arm until it reached her shoulder. Chloe pushed open her office door to meet the owner of the footprints. 

"Marina!"

"Ch – Chloe!" the girl panted, breathing hard, as if she been running a long way.

"Are you OK? Where're Annie and Gary?"

"They've been c – captured!"

"_What_? Marina, calm down. Tell me slowly what happened. Start at the beginning."

Marina stopped, panting and getting her breath back. Once she had recovered, she began, "It – it was Annie's idea. We found out the name of the man who – who had my family killed. We went to his house to – to try and confront him, or at least f – find out something about his motives."

"Go on."

"Well, we found our way in, o – only Annie and Gary were being affected by something. It was – it was something to do with their telepathy. They were getting headaches and – and they couldn't concentrate. There was something in the house that was – that was causing it. The – the closer they got, the worse it became. Eventually they – they passed out and were captured."

"You escaped?"

"Yeah. I – I desperately wanted to bring them with me, but I – I had to swim my way to safety, and – and – well, they wouldn't have made it. I – I'm real sorry, Chloe…"

Chloe was torn between worrying about her children, and her confusion about the situation in general. She didn't know what to think, or what to do. She had no idea what their priority should be.

"Did you manage to find out anything?" she asked Marina.

The water girl nodded, and reached into an invisible pocket on her uniform, "This computer disk h – holds the contents of his computer's hard drive. It's encrypted; I thought Chris would be able to – to hack into it."

Chloe took it. She was about to tell Marina what had happened to Chris, when the girl held up something else, "There's pictures on the camera that Annie took of some documents. I – I'm not sure what was on them. And then some that I took of – of the people who captured us."

"All right, let's take a look. We can connect the camera to one of the computers and view the images directly," said Chloe.

The woman and the girl hurried into Chloe's office, and sat down in front of the computer. Marina noticed for the first time the tiny snake that was sitting on Chloe's shoulder. Its tongue protruded as it curiously extended its head towards Marina. Its hood flared slightly, perhaps as it evaluated whether or not she represented a threat.

"Is – is that a c – cobra?"

"Yes. It won't hurt you. Try not to startle it."

Marina tried to ignore the snake, and focused her attention on Chloe connecting the digital camera's output into one of the computer's ports. Within a minute or two, the first of the photographs was up on screen.

"What – what is it?" said Marina. "It must be one of the ones Annie took."

Chloe frowned as she peered closely at the diagram on the piece of paper Annie had snapped.

"It looks like blueprints…for a ship, perhaps," she guessed.

She switched to the next picture. This was similar to the first, presumably from the next page in the document.

"The _Survival_," Chloe said. "That's the name of the ship."

"I – I don't think it's a ship…"

"No?"

"No. It – it's a submarine."

"How can you tell from this?"

"I know a bit about ships. My family, uh, did a lot of sailing."

"Hmm. OK, what does this tell us?"

Marina looked at the screen once more, "Maybe it's a Naval research project McKenzie is involved in."

They looked at more images of the sub's blueprints, and then they came to the other pictures, the ones Marina had taken, of the three men she had evaded. The first man was Admiral McKenzie, and she pointed him out to Chloe. The second man was unknown to Marina, but Chloe said, "I know him! I recognise him! He was the leader of the troops who attacked the school!"

"Attacked the school? What are – what are you talking about?"

"The school came under attack earlier today, after you left. Elite commandos or something, we're not quite sure. This man was the leader. I don't understand; I thought they were all killed…"

While a shocked Marina digested this information, Chloe looked at the photograph again. There was a third man, but his face was hidden in shadow.

"So that means – " Marina began. " – that means there's a connection between – between the people who killed my family and – and the people who attacked the school…"

Chloe switched to the next photograph in the camera's memory, another image of the three men. This time the third man's face was not in shadow, and she could see his features clearly. Her jaw dropped in disbelief.

"This can't be…" she whispered.

Marina said, "He – he was telling the other two what to do. He must have – he must have been in charge. I don't know who he is."

"I do."

"What? Y – you've seen him before?"

"More times than I'd like to remember…"

"So – so who is it?

"It's Magneto."


	18. Chapter Seventeen: Making an Escape

Accel could hear voices now, and there was light. Another opening was ahead of her, and through it she could see some feet. Hey, it was Cassie! She recognised Cassie's shoes, because she'd helped Gemini to pick them as a present for Cassie. The other four feet had to belong to the bad guys who were dragging her about. Accel crawled towards the tunnel exit and looked through to see what was happening to her friend.

Cassie still hung unconscious in the arms of the two men. They were standing in front of a door labelled **G7**. Accel remembered that was the room they'd been taking Cassie to. Perfect. When the bad guys went away, she could crawl out and set Cassie free. She watched as the baddie on the left punched some numbers into a keypad on the side of the door. A red light flashed and the man swore, "Damn it, I got the code wrong!"

"Oh, you're so useless," the other sighed. "Here, I'll do it. We need to wait a few seconds. If we try it again too soon, an alarm will go off. You're _always_ forgetting the code. Here, I'll write it down for you to remember, in nice big numbers…"

He wrote on a piece of paper and held it out, but the other man threw it on the floor angrily, "I can remember the code, damn it! You don't need to patronise me!"

"Fine, whatever."

The man who knew the code punched it in correctly, and the door silently slid open. From inside came a furious roar, "Get me off this thing, you bastards!"

Cassie was thrown into the room, then they hit the keypad again and the door slid shut. Accel waited for the men to walk away. They did so, and she crawled out of the tunnel, ready to try and get Cassie out. In her excitement, she lost her footing and fell over. Accel tensed, expecting a guard to come running to investigate the sound, but several moments passed and there was no reaction of any kind. She rose, and stood in the corridor, directly in front of the door she had seen Cassie taken through. There were no handles and the door didn't open when she pushed it as hard as she could it.

Then the little girl remembered: the keypad! There was some kind of code that opened the door. But what was it? The men had typed it in too fast for her to see what it was. And then she remembered something else. One of the men had written the code down, but the other man had thrown the note away! She dropped to her hands and knees, and grabbed it. Unfolding it excitedly, she read the code and punched it into the keypad.

Accel almost cried out with delight as the door slid open. Dropping the note, she hurried inside to find Cassie. The room inside was small, and she found her friend lying in the corner.

"Cassie! Wake up!" the little girl exclaimed, shaking her friend's shoulders.

Cassie didn't move, and made no response of any kind. Accel panicked. Was she all right? Was she – was she _dead_?

"_Cassie_?" she said nervously.

How did you check if someone was alive? They'd been taught it at school not long ago. She thought hard, and then it came to her. Check their pulse. Accel put her fingers on Cassie's wrist, but she couldn't feel anything. Was she doing this right? Cassie was OK, wasn't she? She wasn't dead…no, she couldn't be…

"No…" the child wailed.

From behind her came a voice, "Hey, kid!"

Logan recognised the girl. She was one of the little kids from the school. But what the _hell_ was she doing here? How had she managed to get the door open? Had she come with the foreseer kid – what was her name again – Cassandra? Was this supposed to be some kind of rescue attempt? He struggled against the magnet, but to no avail. The little girl had turned at the sound of his voice.

"Oh, Mr Logan, sir," she sobbed with heartbroken sorrow. "Cassie's dead!"

"No, kid, she's all right. I can see her breathing. Put your hand on her chest and you'll feel it."

Accel did, "But why won't she wake up?"

"She's been knocked out. She won't wake up until – well, I guess until she's ready. Hey, kid," he tried to remember her name, "Accel, come and help me out here."

With an effort, the girl managed to pull herself away from her worries for her unconscious friend, and she walked over to the metal table which Mr Logan was lying on.

"Are you hurt? Can't you get up?" she said.

"No, it's – look, this table's a magnet. Part of my body is made of metal, so I'm stuck. Can you find a way to turn the power off?"

"Yeah, just tell me what to do!"

"Look for something that might turn the power off. Are there any cables running out of this?"

"No…I don't think so."

"OK. Try looking in the corridor outside. There won't be an off switch or anything in here."

"Mr Logan, is Cassie really OK?" the girl asked uncertainly.

"Yes!"

"Isn't there something I should do for her?"

_Stop talking, kid, and find some way to turn this thing off_! He forced himself to calm down, "Accel, she's fine. She'll wake up in her own time. Get me off this thing so I can find the rest of our friends."

Accel hurried back into the corridor outside, looking around for something that might be controlling the thing Mr Logan was stuck to. She was worried about Cassie. Was she _really_ OK? She hadn't woken when Accel had shaken her. Weren't people supposed to wake up when you shook them?

Hey, there was a box or something attached to the wall. On the side of it was a lightning symbol. Wasn't that what they put on power supplies? Maybe this was the thing that Mr Logan wanted her to turn off. As she got closer, Accel noticed the front cover of the box was hinged, and she swung it open. Inside was a number of switches, but she didn't know what any of them did. There was some writing, but she couldn't read it. Would it work if she just turned them all off? Experimentally she flicked a couple of them.

"Mr Logan?" she called. "I hit some switches; did anything happen?"

"No."

She was halfway through hitting another random selection of switches, when she heard something over her shoulder. Accel turned.

"Hey, it's just a kid," said one of the three men facing her.

"How the hell did she get in here?"

The third one said, "The alert warned of a mutant loose. This could be it. Scan her."

One of them stepped close, holding out a small handheld device and running it up and down in front of Accel. The girl watched, waiting to see what they would do. Her muscles were tensed and she was ready to run if they tried to hurt her. She knew that humans were stupid, so she guessed it would take them quite a while to think. Hopefully she would have enough time to run away before they could decide to do anything nasty to her. But she _couldn't_ run away! Cassie and Mr Logan needed her help!

"Scan's positive. It's a mutant."

_Well, **duh**_, she thought.

"Kill it?"

"Better ask the boss first," said one of the humans, who began speaking into a communicator. "Sir, we've discovered the mutant loose in Detention West. No, it's a kid, sir. About six or seven, I guess. Scan was positive. Yes, sir."

The others looked expectantly at him. He listened for a moment, then nodded, "Kill it."

Accel was already moving, running not away from the men but towards them. She _had_ to protect Cassie. If the men were going around killing mutants, that meant they would kill Cassie, who was asleep and couldn't defend herself. She remembered the time Gemini had said: _if a man ever tries to hurt you, this is what you do._ The little girl drove an accelerated fist into the first man's groin, hearing the howl that came from his throat. She ducked under his flailing gun arm, and turned to do the same to the second man.

But the humans were faster than she'd been led to believe. The remaining two were standing over her, weapons pointed directly at her head. She turned to run, but lost her balance and fell on to her back. They moved in for the kill. Accel began to shake and sob in terror. Blood was dripping to the floor, and she thought: _oh no, I'm bleeding_! _That means they've shot me_!

Then she realised it was not her blood that was falling to the floor, but the blood of the two men. Their guns had fallen to the floor, their eyes were closed, and both hung limply from the clutches of a figure behind them. Logan retracted his claws, and the dead men fell to the floor. He checked the third, who was insensible through pain.

"You all right?" he asked the child. "Kid? Accel?"

He kneeled down beside her. Terrified beyond her mind's ability to handle it, the girl grabbed hold of Logan and sobbed into his chest.

"How did you get in here?" he asked in amazement.

She didn't reply; maybe she was too scared to think.

"Hey, come on, we've got to move," he said softly. "Accel? Are you going to be OK?"

Her tears continued to fall, but she nodded. He helped her to her feet and directed her inside the room, "Stay here while I have a look around."

"Don't leave me!"

"I'm coming back, kid. Stay with your friend. Stay with Cassandra."

Cassandra stirred and murmured something, then lapsed back into unconsciousness. The little girl hurried over towards her, and Logan sniffed the air. Good. Nobody was approaching. Somebody would show up before long, though, to see what had become of these three guards. He crouched down to quickly search the bodies, to see if there was anything that might give a hint as to what the hell was going on here. Where was he? Who were his ex-captors? Were they military? Was this linked with the terrorists? He glanced up at the circuit box on the wall. The kid must have hit the switch to turn off the magnet just before these bastards found her.

Cyclops had to be around here somewhere. They'd both been taken, so presumably they'd been taken to the same place, i.e. here. Not that Logan particularly wanted the guy around, but he did have his uses. Long range attack, that sort of thing. He glanced back into the room. The teenager was beginning to wake up, and the kid was kneeling beside her. As much as he hated to admit it, he knew it was his duty to protect them. They _were_ Pyro's students, and probably brainwashed for life, but still, they were mutants, they were kids, and they were girls. Three different reasons why his instincts told him to keep them safe.

There were seven other closed doors on either side of the corridor, and he moved to the next one. He had no way of knowing which one Scott was inside, so he guessed there was no real option but to try them at random. He extended his claws and slashed through the first door. His eyes adjusting to the darkness inside, he saw the room was empty. Great. Only six more left to try. Hopefully no more guards would show up in that time. Then at some point he'd have to come up with some way of getting out of here. How had the kid gotten in? How the _hell_ did a seven year old kid find her way in here? Had she been captured and escaped? Probably.

He checked the second, third and fourth doors, but there was nobody in any of them. The fifth door, when he got to it, was already lying open. Well, lying open probably wasn't descriptive enough. Torn open, with deep slashes all over its surface and left hanging on its hinges, was more accurate. Logan frowned. The slash marks in the door looked as if they came from his own claws, but he had no memory of doing this. Could he have been held in this room previously, slashed it open and escaped, then been recaptured and attached to the magnet? If so, why didn't he remember it? Had he been hit on the head or something?

The girls were coming up behind him. The foreseer had woken up, and she was walking quickly in his direction, the little kid holding her hand and hurrying to keep up.

"What happened? Did you get us loose?" the teenager asked him.

Logan shook his head, "No. She did."

"_What_? _Accel_? Is he being serious?"

Accel nodded, "Yeah! I saw the bad guys taking you inside, so I followed them and I stole their code and I got the door open!"

"Accel! Have you any idea how _stupid_ that was! You could have been killed!"

"But I wanted to help you!"

"Honey, you should have thought of your own safety first! Are you all right? You didn't get hurt, did you?"

"No! I'm fine!"

Nevertheless Cassandra quickly ran her hands over the little girl, checking for injuries, making sure she really was OK, making sure she wasn't lying out of bravado. She watched as Wolverine slashed open two more doors, but apparently found nobody inside. Accel's eyes kept straying to the two dead, mauled men lying on the floor not far away. Cassandra quickly directed the child's attention elsewhere. She couldn't believe the tiny girl had been so careless as to actually come inside the prison and try to find her friends. But then, Accel was afraid of little, and clearly did not see threats for what they really were. She should never have been here. She should never have come with them. But then, what if she hadn't? Would they be free now?

Something in Accel's eyes told Cassandra that the child was now beginning to see the reality of what was going on here. The danger, the violence, the horror of the dead men, it was all quickly becoming too much for a young innocent mind to take. Accel looked up at her, and stretched out her little arms towards Cassandra. She wanted to be picked up and comforted. Cassandra settled for kneeling down and hugging the tiny mutant. More humans could arrive at any moment, and she wanted to be in a position where she could easily seek cover.

"Hey, kid!" she heard Wolverine calling to her. "Get on your feet and keep an eye out for guards!"

"I have a name, you know! You don't have to call me 'kid'!"

He ignored her and slashed open the door to the last of the prison cells. This time he could both see and smell the presence of somebody inside.

"Cyclops?" he said.

Two figures stepped out of the dark interior.

"Oh. It's you," Pyro and Logan said to each other.

The duplicator kid – Gemini – let go of her father's arm to hurry past, crying, "Cassie! Accel! Are you OK?"

The two men were left facing each other.

"What are you _doing_ here?" Logan demanded.

"We came here looking for you, of course. Before you get excited, that was a collective 'you'. We certainly weren't seeking _you_ out specifically."

"So where is Cyclops?"

"How should I know? I don't suppose you know half of what's going on, do you? _All _of your friends have been captured. We have a lead concerning those adamantium discs, too. And mutants are being arrested all over the world as a panic reaction to another terrorist strike."

"And you're _not _out there randomly killing people? You amaze me, Pyro."

"Doesn't sound hard. Anyway, we don't have time for this shit. We thought maybe the rest of your friends had been brought here. I take it you haven't found any of them."

"No. I've checked every room. They must be someplace else."

"We need to have a look around this place. Come on."

Logan stopped him, "Pyro, wait a moment. Macho bullshit aside, can you tell me, seriously and with 100 honesty, that your old boss isn't involved in this in any way?"

"Magneto? How many times do I have to tell you? He. Is. _Dead_."

"You're sure?"

"Yes! And I can prove it."

"How?"

"I'll tell you later. Let's go."

* * *

"Sir, there's no response from the team in Detention West." 

The ageless man known as One said nothing.

"Sir, do you think the mutants have escaped?"

"Impossible! I designed their cells perfectly! It must be an equipment failure. But send a security team to check it out, just in case."

"They're on their way. Oh, another report just came in, sir. The rest of the mutants are being sedated and will soon be ready to be transported. They're being taken to the main hangar, sir."

"Excellent. I shall accompany them. You have your command once more, Lieutenant."

* * *

The sight and smell of blood and death had finally become too much for little Accel, who was being sick inside one of the cells. Upset and ashamed, she didn't want anyone to see her. Gemini was attending to a small injury on Cassandra's shoulder. Logan and Pyro were debating what to do next. 

"I don't get it," said Logan. "There's a scent here – in this corridor – that I recognise, but I can't pin it down. It's somebody I know – or once knew – who's been here very recently."

"Any of your friends?"

"No. I'd recognise their scent straight away. It can't be anybody I know well. It must be somebody I've only met a few times."

Accel emerged from the cell, looking pale and unhappy. Gemini looked at her, "Are you OK, honey? We heard you throwing up."

"No I wasn't!" the child insisted.

"What are we going to do?" said Cassandra to Pyro.

"I guess we should search this place to see if we can find the rest of the X-Men. Maybe there are other prison sections."

"There are," said little Accel. "I heard the bad guys talking about it. This bit is called Detention West. They said there were four. Do you think there's a North, South and East as well?"

"You'd think so, wouldn't you? Sounds like our next move."

"For once I agree with you," said Logan, then he stopped. "Uh-oh. Wait a minute…"

He sniffed the air. Cassandra's eyes widened, "There's a group of men coming! I just foresaw it! They have guns and everything!"

"Damn it," Pyro muttered. "All right, Accel, get inside that room."

"Not that one! I've been sick in there!"

"All right, the next one! Cassie, get behind me. Gemini – "

Gemini was exploring the end of the corridor, trying to see what lay around the corner, the corner around which the humans were about to arrive. Logan grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back to safety. She struggled against him and yelled, "Let go of me! _Let go of me, you bastard_!"

"Keep your hair on, kid," he said, letting go of her once she was back with Pyro. "What's your problem?"

She glared at him, "I don't like being touched, OK? By men. I know you're all the same and you're only after one thing!"

"Oh, for crying out loud, kid, get a grip. I'm older than your father…"

"So was he."

"So was who?"

"Van Gaarde."

"They're going to be here any minute!" Cassandra exclaimed.

"I'll take them," the X-Man said confidently.

Pyro slipped his hand inside his jacket, round to the small of his back where he kept his backup lighter. Obviously the scum had missed it when they had captured and imprisoned him. He ignited it, and waited for the humans to approach. Logan extended his claws and was about to hurry forward to meet the guards.

"Wait!" Cassandra suddenly cried. "They're going to use a grenade!"

That was all the warning they had of the explosive suddenly being tossed around the corner, bouncing from one wall to land a few yards in front them. Pyro threw himself on top of Gemini as Logan grabbed Cassandra, the two men using their own bodies to shield the girls from the explosion. Accel screamed as the grenade went off, the sound deafening in the enclosed space but the relatively small explosive causing no real harm to the four grounded figures. Before the smoke had even cleared, the humans were running around the corner, their weapons at the ready. Logan jumped to his feet, ready to take them on at once, but Cassandra screamed, "No!" and pulled him back down on top of her. Bullets zipped through the air where he had just been standing.

Pyro raised his arm and a white-hot ball of flame shot out to engulf the three foremost guards, consuming them before they even had a chance to react. Logan was now running forward to deal with the rest. A bullet hit him in the shoulder but he didn't even slow down, stabbing his claws into the two men nearest him. Gemini was running forward to tackle the remaining guards, and Pyro yelled frantically, "No, Gemini, get back here!"

"Relax, Dad, that's my twin," she spoke softly from his side.

The last few guards were shocked and off balance, and the twin tackled one of them to the ground. Before the others could react, she had snatched one of the grenades from his belt and pulled out the pin.

"Wolverine, get back!" Cassandra screamed, grabbing his arm and pulling him away.

The grenade exploded, destroying Gemini's twin and the last remaining guards. The original Gemini, who always felt the summoned twins' pain, had shrieked in agony at the explosion and slumped in Pyro's arms. While he waited for her to come round, Cassandra ran into the cell to retrieve the frightened Acceleratus. Logan was already scouting ahead, checking the way out.

"Seems clear," he called back. "Let's go!"

Gemini had regained consciousness and they hurried after Wolverine. After a few moments they came to a corner, around which was a checkpoint of some kind with an airlock, and a guard post shielded with heavily reinforced bullet-proof glass. Inside was a single guard, intently watching the security monitors in front of him. It was the work of a few seconds for Logan to slash through the bullet-proof glass, and knock the man unconscious with a blow to the head. He hadn't been armed or aware of their presence, so there was no reason to kill him. Hurrying on past the checkpoint, they came to a crossroads.

"Which way?" Pyro said.

Accel pointed right, "That's the way I came in. It goes to the front door."

"Let's go this way," said Logan, heading left. "They'll be expecting us to try to head for the exit and escape. That's where their security will be tightest."

"What if we don't find your friends?" asked Cassandra. "What if they aren't here?"

"Then we find something that tells us where they are. Or something that tells us what the hell is going on here."

It seemed Logan had been correct, as they encountered no further security personnel while they made their way to what they assumed would be Detention North. If all the guards_ were_ at the entrance, anticipating an immediate escape attempt, how long would it be before they realised the mutants had gone the other way? None of the five knew. They just had to move as quickly as they could and try to find their friends.

At the entrance to Detention North, they found another checkpoint manned by a single guard. This guy did better than the last one; he got halfway towards sounding the alarm before Logan's metallic knuckles smacked into his jaw, knocking him senseless.

"I'll check the cells," Logan said to Pyro. "You and the girls stay here and keep watch."

There was no reason to argue, "Right. Accel, you go with him. I don't want you out here where it might be dangerous."

A few minutes later, Logan returned, shaking his head, "Nothing. They're all empty."

"Smell anything?"

A sigh, "No. There're too many different scents mixed together. Our friends _might_ have been here, but I really can't tell."

Accel appeared beside them, "Hey, I found this in one of the cells!"

She held out something to Pyro, who took it.

"Hey – Cyclops' visor," said Logan in surprise. "Where'd you find this?"

"I told you, in one of the cells!" the child said impatiently.

"So he must have been here."

"You think he escaped?" Pyro said.

"Without this? Not likely."

"Maybe he left it for us to find," Accel suggested.

"How would he know we'd find it?"

She shrugged, "I dunno," and wandered away towards the teenagers, who were inside the guard post, presumably examining the security monitors.

"Dad! Dad! Come here quick! _Dad_!"

Gemini was frantically beckoning towards him, and Pyro hurried over to see what was wrong. She was in front of a bank of security screens, and she grabbed his arm to pull him over, "Look! That screen!"

Accel was jumping up to try and see what was so important. Cassandra picked her up and the three of them looked closely at the screen Gemini was so excited about. It showed a huge open space – an aircraft hangar – with what looked like a large cargo plane at the centre. Its landing ramp was down, and the figure at the bottom –

"It can't be…" he breathed.

"I know, I couldn't believe it either!" Gemini exclaimed.

Logan was behind them now, "What's gotten you so worked up, kids?"

"See for yourself, _old man_," she retorted.

He looked, and felt his initial shock quickly replace with a burst of anger.

"I knew it!" he yelled. "I knew that bastard was involved in this!"

"Hey! Bad word!" Accel shouted.

But nobody was listening to the little girl. They watched, spellbound, as Magneto took one last look around the hangar in which he stood, then strode up the ramp into the aircraft.

"He's alive…" Pyro whispered. "I can't believe it…"

"Yeah, just keep on acting surprised, man," Logan said angrily.

"But what about what Mystique told us?" said Gemini in bewilderment. "She told us…she gave me…"

Her hand moved towards the pendant around her neck. Accel squirmed and Cassandra set her down on the floor. Logan was looking at Pyro with even more suspicion, "Whoa, whoa, whoa – what's this about Mystique? I thought you said you had no idea where she was! Now I find out she's been meeting you? Any more little secrets you'd like to tell us?"

Pyro wasn't listening, "If this…if this is all Magneto's work – all of this, the terrorist attacks and everything else – how can I stand against him? He fights for what I do. How can I stand against whatever he's trying to do?"

"Oh, I don't believe this! The terrorist attacks are killing people indiscriminately, for all we know mutants as well as humans! Even _you_ can't say that's acceptable!"

"He's right, Dad," Gemini said hesitantly. "Like, if Magneto _was_ back, why wouldn't he contact us? Why didn't he show up to help us out last time?"

Pyro said nothing.

"Hey, who's _that_?" they heard Accel ask.

She was standing on tip-toes to look into one of the lower down security screens, and as they looked to see what had caught her attention, a figure was just moving off the edge of the screen. A small frown crossed the little girl's face, "I thought I saw…nah, forget it."

Before anyone could say anything else, all of them jumped at the sound of an ear-splitting alarm bursting into life from loudspeakers overhead, and bright red lights in the guard post suddenly flashing with painful brightness. A voice began to blare out of the speakers along with the alarm siren, "SECURITY ALERT – SECURITY ALERT – THIS IS NOT A DRILL, REPEAT _NOT_ A DRILL – ALL SECURITY STAFF REPORT TO SOUTH ENTRANCE IMMEDIATELY!"

"Oh no, they've found us!" Accel cried.

"Is it any wonder, with the time you've all been wasting?" Logan snapped. "All right, if these bastards want a fight, they'll get one!"

"They could be here any moment," Pyro urged. "We'd better get ready. Cassie, what do you see?"

"Nothing."

"Look harder," said Logan impatiently.

"It doesn't work that way! I can't look direct into the future! All I get are flashes sometimes, when something's about to happen."

"Hold on a minute," Pyro said slowly. "The alert told the guards to go to the south entrance, right? That isn't where we are."

"Yeah, that's right," agreed Gemini. "We're north, aren't we?"

"The south entrance must be where Accel got in. Honey, what's down that way?"

The child shrugged, "I dunno. Just…stuff. I didn't really see. Are we gonna be OK? Are we gonna be attacked?"

"No, honey, we'll be OK," Cassandra said softly, squeezing the little girl's hand to reassure her.

"Maybe someone else escaped," Logan suggested. "If so, we should go give them a hand. If not, we can take advantage of the distraction to make our own escape."

"Sounds good," Pyro agreed. "All right, let's try to get some idea of what's going on down there. Which security screens will show us the south entrance?"

Gemini and Cassandra looked, "Uh…these ones."

The screens in question were dead.

"Hey, that's weird. Like, I'm sure they were showing something a minute ago. Cassie?"

"Yeah, I thought so too."

"Someone must have cut the feed," Pyro said.

Logan nodded, "Yeah – a good sign that maybe it _is_ one of our friends. Let's go find them."

They headed east, to search the Detention East block. That too proved to be empty. The only option now seemed to be south. That was where the last prison block would be found, and where the alert had been signalled. It was also where the only exit they knew of lay. Before they even got there, Logan could tell something was wrong. He sniffed the air, inhaling deeply, and signalled the others to stop.

"What is it?" Cassandra asked cautiously.

"It doesn't smell right. I smell…blood. And death. Something terrible has happened."

"You mean our friends got hurt?" Accel cried anxiously.

"You kids stay here. Pyro, you're with me."

The two men went forward slowly, carefully, heading for the turning that would take them down the main corridor to the southern section of the prison. With every step they took, the scent of blood and death became stronger and stronger until Logan could barely smell anything else.

"Do you hear anything?" Pyro hissed.

"Nothing. Whatever happened is over and done. There's nothing we can do."

"What does death smell like?"

"Don't you know?"

"Well, in case you hadn't noticed, I don't have a genetically enhanced olfactory system."

"Huh, I just thought that with the number of people you've killed, you might have picked up the scent by now."

"Real clever, Logan. How long did that take you?"

"Longer than you might think. You see, unlike you, I think before I act."

"You mean you try to work out what something is before sticking your claws into it? My, Xavier did teach you a lot."

"You do talk a lot of crap, don't you?"

"Sorry, I'll try and speak slower next time."

"Listen kid, I may not read a lot of books, but don't try to make out I'm dumb, all right?"

"'Kid'? Are you even aware that I'm over the age of thirty now?"

"You sure don't act like – " Logan began, then abruptly held up his hand for silence.

Pyro listened, but could make out nothing.

"I thought I heard something. Come on. Stay quiet."

They edged around the corner, but neither man was prepared for the scene that awaited them. Bodies of men were scattered around the main corridor, and blood covered the floor and walls like some kind of macabre movie scene. The bodies had been butchered, slashed apart and cut open. The nearest corpse's face was frozen in a silent scream of horror and agony. Logan knelt down and dipped his finger in a small pool of blood.

"Warm," he said. "This happened very recently."

"Dad, what's going on?" they heard Gemini calling.

Pyro turned to see the girls approaching them.

"Don't come up here!" he warned. "Stay where you are!"

"Why? What is it?"

"I don't want you to see this."

Logan was sniffing the air once more.

"What _happened_?" Pyro asked.

"These guys were slaughtered is what happened. They never stood a chance. Look, there are no bullet holes in the wall, or any spent shells lying around. Most of them never even got a shot off."

"But who did this?"

"Well – it doesn't make sense to say this, but it looks as if…_I_ did."

"I'm sorry?"

"Look at these wounds. They look exactly like my claw marks. And the detention area where I found you? There was a door that looked as if I had ripped it apart, though I knew I hadn't."

"What are you saying?"

"I don't know. Supposing I did all this…but I don't have any memory of it…"

"What? Are you talking about mind control?"

"Magneto has psychic powers, doesn't he," said Logan – a statement, not a question.

"Yeah, just a basic telepathic ability. Nothing like Xavier's."

"Suppose he controlled my mind."

"You think that's what happened?"

"I'm asking you if it's possible."

Pyro thought about it, "I guess it's _possible_. The question is why. If this is his place, why would he have you kill his own men?"

"Well, nothing _else_ he does makes any sense. Maybe that's why he wanted us captured and brought here. Maybe he wants to practice using telepathic mind control on us. With Xavier gone there'd be nobody to stop him."

"You think that's what this whole thing is about? Magneto wants to mind control you and your people?"

"You're his pupil. What do you think?"

"Well – as much as I hate agreeing with you – I think it sounds exactly the type of thing he'd do. He'd want your people out of his way so you couldn't try and oppose him. But at the same time, he wouldn't want to hurt you if it could be avoided. Obviously he's never tried it before because Xavier would have stopped him."

Logan sighed, and closed his eyes, "Damn it, damn it, _damn it_! I can't stand the thought of that bastard being inside my head and controlling my actions!"

"I can teach you how to block it, if you ask me nicely."

"And where'd you learn to block telepathy?"

"Magneto taught me."

"Right. Forgive me if that doesn't fill me with confidence."

"I'll think about it. Hey, looks like the last detention wing is down that way. At the risk of sounding as if I'm ordering the mighty Wolverine around, perhaps you should go check it out."

"Fine. If you want to do something useful, work on planning our route out."

"Whatever. Hurry it up, will you?"

They glared at each other as they parted. As Logan hurried towards the final prison wing, Pyro moved back to where the girls were looking at him expectantly.

"Dad, what happened? What is it?" Gemini asked him.

"It's pretty horrific, honey, you don't want to see it."

Instantly she became defiant, "I do! I can handle whatever it is!"

"All right, fine. Don't say I didn't warn you."

The girls passed him to satisfy their curiosity and see what had caused such consternation. Gemini's eyes widened with a combination of shock and horror, and she instinctively clutched at Cassandra. The foreseer had her hands on her stomach and was fighting the impulse to throw up. As little Acceleratus followed the other two past him, Pyro gently put out a hand to stop her, "Not you, Accel."

"Aw, but I wanna see!"

"No you don't. Besides, I've got a job for you."

"What?"

"I want you to stay here and keep watch in case anybody's been following us."

He knew that nobody had been following them, and suspected there were no more humans left alive in the prison. They didn't really need anybody to keep watch, but he wanted to give Accel something to do, to make her feel as if she was contributing. If he'd stopped to think about it, he might have realised that she already _had_ contributed. Cassandra hadn't yet told him that it was the child who had kick-started their escape. Nevertheless Accel beamed with pride and set about her guard duty with her usual determination. If any bad guys showed up, she knew she'd spot them. She was thoroughly distracted from her desire to see the horrific scene.

_Amazing, really,_ Pyro thought, _since I adopted Gemini, I can actually handle kids. Previously I would just have told Accel to sit down and shut up. Now I can actually use child psychology and all that crap. _

"Hey!" came Wolverine's voice. "I found Dominic and some of your kids!"

Pyro turned to see Logan approaching, with Vertigo, Atlas and Helios. The three teenagers were moving somewhat unsteadily and looked as if they had been drugged.

"Who're you – who're you calling a 'kid'?" Vertigo demanded of the wall in front of him.

"I think they've been sedated," Logan said. "Their minds are safely on another planet."

Helios stumbled, and found his way into Cassandra's arms. She held him a little uncertainly, while Gemini ran to support the unsteady Atlas. Vertigo swayed and fell over.

"You guys OK?" asked Pyro.

"Yeah, we'll be fine," Vertigo assured him, face down on the floor.

Logan grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him unceremoniously to his feet. Vertigo casually surveyed the blood-strewn corridor and the slashed-up corpses, "Hungry, were you?"

"You're a scream, kid. You must have got it from Pyro. Come on, we can't hang around here."

"But where are the others?" Cassandra asked.

"Dunno. He must be holding them somewhere else."

"But we found the visor. Cyclops _was_ here."

"Then he's moved them. Probably started doing so as soon as we began stirring up trouble."

"What are we gonna do?" asked Gemini.

"We can't waste any more time. We've got to get back to the school, find whoever's left, and then decide how we're going to stop Magneto."


	19. Chapter Eighteen: Trying to Understand

Chloe and Marina were still looking over the last of the photographs just as their friends got back.

"Nine people…" said Chloe. "But who are they and why did McKenzie have them at his house tonight?"

"Do you – do you think there's a connection to what's going on?"

"There must be. If Magneto was willing to be there and show himself to them, they must be mixed up with him somehow. I think I recognise one or two of these faces. If we can identify the whole group, it will give us some idea what Magneto wants them for."

Marina frowned, "I – I think I recognise about four of them. These two men and – and these two women."

Chloe pointed to one of the men, "Ah – that's Robert Worcester."

"He's – um – "

"He's a media tycoon and one of the most influential men in the Western world. He owns or indirectly controls about half of the newspapers in Britain and America, and has his fingers in several other countries as well."

"What about this guy?" said Marina, pointing to another of the nine people. "The Middle Eastern looking guy."

"I don't remember his name, but I think he owns oil fields in Saudi Arabia and other countries. He has to be among the top five richest men alive. Possibly number one. I've seen him in the news."

Marina's finger hesitantly pointed to the youngest of the three women, "I – I know _her_. She's Karen somebody, Karen Auberschwift? One of the most prestigious lawyers in the US. She gives a – a lot of talks on women's rights and feminist issues. Gemini reads a – a lot of that stuff; I've seen it in our dorm."

"Yes," said Chloe. "I know who you're talking about. I think I read somewhere that in the ten years since leaving law school, she's never lost a single case. She mostly defends powerful corporations against litigation suits. As for the rest…I'm not sure. I've seen most of them on TV or in the newspapers, so they're obviously high profile people. A couple of them I don't recognise at all."

"But what are they all doing together? And what does M – Magneto want with them?"

"I don't know, but I'd hazard a guess these are our conspirators. The Admiral, what was his name?"

"M – McKenzie."

"He'll be their contact in the Navy. This constantium that Vertigo was talking about, that was developed in conjunction with Navy research teams. I bet McKenzie was involved in it up to his neck. There's also this soldier/commando type, the man who attacked the school…Magneto must be using him as an assassin."

"But – but why would M – Magneto order him to kill us? I thought – I thought that M – Mag – he didn't want us dead."

Chloe sighed, "I don't understand it either, Marina. Perhaps he's had a change of heart over the years. He was a close friend of the Professor, but who's to say he's willing to extend that friendship to the rest of us?"

"So what do we do?"

"We have to find out who the other people in this photograph are, and why Magneto is interested in them. Once we know who we're dealing with, we'll have a better idea of what they're trying to do, and how we can stop it."

Marina said nothing, and looked closely at the photograph once more. Chloe walked over to the window to check on the situation outside. Her heart suddenly thumped as she saw what she'd been dreading: the ravens forming a diamond formation in the sky, the signal that somebody was approaching the school. Another attack was about to start. There was no time to lose.

"Do I hear a – a helicopter?" Marina asked.

She pulled the tiny binoculars from her uniform and joined Chloe beside the window.

"Marina, get the kids inside. I'll get my animals ready."

"No, no, wait. It's – it's Pyro's helicopter. Look."

She handed the glasses to Chloe, who looked through at the rapidly approaching aircraft. The women breathed a sigh of relief. False alarm. Their friends were returning, hopefully with Scott and Logan. Chloe hurried down to the hangar to meet them, and Marina went with her.

* * *

"Logan! John!" Chloe exclaimed as she saw them emerge from the chopper. "Are you all right? Where's Scott?" 

"We couldn't find him," said Wolverine. "But that's the least of our worries right now. I need a drink and then I'll meet you upstairs."

"Things are way more complicated than we thought," Pyro told her.

The three adults headed for the door, the teenagers following behind them. The two groups made their way to the meeting room upstairs, where they waited for Logan. Cassandra winced as she put her hand to a small cut on her shoulder.

"Are you – are you OK?" Marina asked shyly.

Cassandra ignored her.

"Cassie, want me to get you a plaster?" said Accel.

"OK, honey."

The little girl ran off, almost colliding with Logan as he came in the door. He crossed the room to where Chloe stood with Pyro.

"Logan, there's something I have to tell you," Gaia said urgently. "I don't know exactly what it means but it changes everything. It's Magneto, Logan, he's alive and he's at the bottom of this."

"How do you know that?"

"Marina saw him. She's never met him before so she didn't know it _was_ him, but she took a photograph. It's him. I can't believe it. I don't _want_ to believe it. I keep wishing that it were wrong."

"It's not. I've seen him too."

Chloe gasped, "You have? Where?"

"In the prison where we were being held. He was there. We caught a glimpse of him on a security camera."

"What was he doing there? I don't understand; what is he trying to _do_?"

"Where's your husband?"

"Neil's gone to London to talk to the UN. He – "

"Where's your kids?" Logan interrupted.

"They've been captured by Magneto. I don't know how it happened; Marina can tell us."

Pyro and Logan exchanged glances.

"So every telepath in the school is missing."

Chloe frowned, "What are you getting at?"

Logan sighed, "Magneto's obviously been waiting for this chance for years. He's been sitting waiting for Xavier to die. Without the Professor there's nobody to stop him."

"To stop him doing what?"

"Mind control. That's what he's trying to do with us. That's why he's gone to such trouble to split us up and capture us. He wants to use his telepathy to enslave our minds."

"How do you know that?"

Logan told her what they had seen at the prison: the slashed-open door and the grisly remains of the dead guards.

"It looked as if it had been done by _me_," he explained. "But I sure as hell don't remember it. That bastard must have been controlling my mind."

"No. That's impossible."

"Is it? Is it any coincidence that Neil and Annie and the boy have been lured away? It gives Magneto a free rein to control the rest of our minds. We haven't got any defences against it."

"I have," said Pyro. "And I can teach the rest of you."

"You learned it from Magneto, don't forget. You think he's going to have taught you enough to be able to get in his way? We can't rely on it."

Chloe said, "But we still don't know his _reason_ for doing all this. Obviously it isn't just to control our minds. He doesn't have enough power to permanently alter our way of thinking and force us to join his cause."

"Right," Pyro agreed. "Clearly he just wants to get you out of the way for a short period of time, in which he plans to do something. Something he expects you to try and prevent."

"But _what_? That's the key. That's what this whole thing revolves around. He's started the terrorist attacks to distract the humans from noticing anything suspicious, and to give him more power over a terrified population. He's been sending us these adamantium discs to distract us and confuse us, and ultimately to lure us towards him. By blaming mutants for the terrorist bombings, he's had our friends arrested by the human authorities and brought to him. It all fits together like a jigsaw. We're just missing the central piece."

"He seems to be involved heavily in research," Pyro said. "My guess is he's discovered – or is on the brink of discovering – some new piece of technology. Perhaps something that will let him wage war on humanity again."

"Right, and when he does, whose side are you on?" Logan demanded.

Pyro ignored him, "If I'm right, we need to find out what his discovery is."

"Maybe it's this new metal," Chloe suggested.

"Of course. Constantium."

"Which is what?" said Logan.

Chloe explained, "A new metallic alloy that's stronger than adamantium. It's just been discovered – well, created – by Naval and civilian researchers. We believe it's what Magneto used to carve the adamantium discs."

"So what's he planning to do with it?"

"Well, that's obvious enough," Pyro answered. "He can make weapons out of it. He can make anything out of it. He can do anything with it. If it's stronger than adamantium, he can control the world with it."

"So why didn't he just do the same thing with adamantium?" she said.

"Because it's difficult to produce, and difficult to manipulate," said Logan. "Maybe constantium is easier."

Then he went on, "All right. So, let's say he plans to wipe out humanity using constantium-based weapons. Why does he need all this secrecy? Why is he so afraid of us that he's going to such extraordinary lengths to get us out of his way? Why doesn't he just take the simplest option and kill us?"

Chloe said, "Well…as you said before, he's obviously been planning this for years. Presumably he had to maintain secrecy to keep us from finding out."

"But why us specifically?"

"Maybe there's some weakness of his that only we know about," she suggested.

Logan shrugged, "Nothing comes to mind, besides his old age. That's something I don't get. He's what by now, a hundred? How can he possibly be doing all this?"

"We'll get to that later. I'm thinking maybe he has some weakness that the Professor knew about. Maybe Magneto tried to hide it from him and failed. Maybe he's afraid that the Professor told us about it before he died."

Pyro frowned, "Well, I know Magneto better than either of you, but I don't know of any Achilles' heel."

"Or perhaps you do and you're just not telling us," said Logan. "Chloe, we can't trust this guy. He lied to us about Mystique. She isn't dead, and he's been meeting her."

"I met her once, and _she_ sought _me_ out, not the other way round. Look Wolverine, I don't particularly care if you trust me or not. I certainly don't trust you. All I care about now is my daughter. The only reason I care about this whole Magneto affair is because it's putting Gemini in danger."

"So whose side are you on? Ours or his?"

"Neither. I'm on the same side I've always been on: my own."

"Yeah, we noticed."

"Logan," said Chloe. "Remember I wasn't around the school at the time the Professor died. Was there anything he said, any kind of last message he passed on? Anything at all he might have known about Magneto that he never told us before?"

"No idea," Logan admitted. "I wasn't around either. I'd been getting majorly pissed off with Cyclops over something, so I disappeared for a few days to let things cool down. If there was any kind of last message, Cyclops would be the one he gave it to."

Chloe sighed, "Yeah. We have to find Scott. We have to find Annie and Gary too. We have to find a way to stop Magneto. We have to do so much, and we don't even know where to start."

Pyro spoke up, "If Magneto isn't dead then Mystique lied to me. She swore that he was gone. She even – wait a minute. Gemini?"

The girl looked over, "Hey, Dad."

"Come here a moment, honey."

Obediently she walked over. Nervously keeping her distance from Logan, she stood between her father and Chloe. She was still wearing the necklace Mystique had given her, and Pyro gently unfastened the clasp at the back of her neck, taking the pendant in his hand.

"Lovely," said Logan sarcastically. "I didn't know you were into jewellery."

Pyro flipped open the cover, "Mystique gave us this. She told us Magneto was dead and the remains of his ashes were inside. She even told me it would stand up to a DNA test."

"I didn't know you could DNA test someone's ashes," Logan said.

"I guess it depends if any traces have survived," said Chloe. "The real question is, where do we get an existing sample of his DNA to compare it with?"

"The Justice Department," said Pyro. "When he was taken into custody in Stryker's plastic prison, they would have taken a blood sample then."

"Would it still exist?"

"I should imagine so. He's still officially a fugitive from justice. They don't know he's dead."

"Wait a minute, what's the point in doing a DNA test?" Logan demanded. "We already know he _isn't_ dead. We've all seen him. The only explanation is that Mystique lied."

"So she's part of it too?"

"Of course she is."

"Hey, Mystique isn't part of anything!" Gemini snapped. "Leave her alone!"

"It doesn't make any sense," said Pyro, shaking his head. "If Magneto wanted to wipe out humanity, why didn't he help me and my students spread the Plague?"

"Perhaps he guessed the Plague would mutate to attack us as well as the humans," Chloe suggested. "Or maybe he was too proud to play second fiddle to your plan."

"Does that matter?" Logan said impatiently. "Do any of these questions matter? All we know is that he's on the brink of doing something huge and we have to get in his way! No more questions. Let's just concentrate on what we actually _know_, and see where that takes us."

"All right," said Chloe. "We know Magneto's alive. We know he has our friends. John, you spoke earlier about your idea of a group of conspirators behind these terrorist attacks. It seems clear that if such a group exists, Magneto is organising it."

"That would make sense," said Logan. "It's also what I've been saying all along."

"I told you earlier that Marina managed to take some photographs of Magneto. She also got a picture of some people Magneto seems to be working with. I want you to take a look and see if you recognise any of them."

She led them to her office, where the photograph of the nine figures was still on the computer screen.

"Marina and I have already identified three of them," she said, pointing them out. "That's Robert Worcester, the media overlord. And here, the Middle Eastern oil billionaire; I think his name is Ahmed Al-Sayed. Third, Karen Auberschwift."

"Auberschwift," said Pyro. "She's the one who's supposed to be invincible in the court room, isn't she?"

"That's her. I've heard that other lawyers will refuse to take a case if they know they're going to be facing her. She's obviously an incredible ally to have on your side. Little wonder Magneto has recruited her. Do you recognise any of the others? Hang on, I'll write these down."

While she reached for a pad of paper, the two men moved closer to the screen. Pyro immediately indicated one of the women, "I know her. That's what's-her-name. Ellen Marshall. She's one of the President's advisors."

"What do you know about her?"

"She hates mutants. She's one of the loudest voices behind mutant registration. She was an assassination target of ours a year or so ago."

"Surprise," Logan muttered. "I think I recognise one or two of these other guys, but I can't remember who they are. I'm good with faces but pretty hopeless with names."

Chloe headed for the door, "I'll go and get the teenagers. Maybe they can help us."

The two men continued facing the picture on the computer screen.

"So what does Magneto want these people for?" said Pyro.

"Well, that's obvious, isn't it?" Logan retorted. "Each of them lets him expand his power base in a different way. The oil guy has money. The newspaper man handles propaganda. The political advisor gives him a foot in the White House. The lawyer gives him legal protection."

"Yes, that _is_ obvious, and it's not what I was getting at. I meant: why is he working with humans? He hates them. I can only assume he's manipulating them for his own ends, and is going to pull the rug from under their feet at the last moment."

"Sounds likely."

At that moment Chloe returned, with the teenagers in tow.

"Nine people plus Magneto," said Pyro. "These are our conspirators all right. Is there anyone else?"

"Yes," said Chloe. "Two others that we know of. An Admiral who works in Naval research, who we assume was involved with the constantium project. And some kind of elite commando, the guy who led the attack on the school earlier."

"What attack on the school?" said Logan.

"Wait a minute," Pyro interrupted. "_Magneto_ was behind that? That doesn't make any sense. Why would he try to kill mutants? I thought we agreed he wanted you guys kept alive under his mind control."

"Maybe he knew his attack would fail. Maybe it was meant to provoke us," Chloe said.

Marina shook her head, and spoke up nervously, "He – um – it wasn't like that. I o – overheard his reaction when he found out that – that it failed. He was surprised and – and he wasn't happy."

"Something doesn't add up," said Logan. "First we're saying he wants us kept alive but under his control. Now we're saying he sent troops here to kill us. Which is it?"

Nobody had an answer.

"So…_eleven_ people plus Magneto," Pyro amended. "That makes twelve. I wonder if any of them know what he's really planning to do."

"How do we know it's really him?" said Atlas. "Couldn't it be someone wearing a disguise?"

Aqua shook her head, "N – no. I – I met him, remember? He was c – controlling metal spikes and trying to impale me."

"I can't believe he would do that," Pyro said.

"I can," Logan muttered.

"Take a look at this picture," Chloe said to the teens. "See if you recognise any of these people."

They moved forward to take a look. Gemini was near the front, and her eyes widened with shock as she gasped, "I don't believe it!"

"What?"

She grabbed Pyro's arm, "It can't be. It's – it's her!"

Pointing to the remaining unidentified woman, her hand trembling, Gemini repeated, "It's _her_!"

"Who?" said Chloe.

"My mother, of course!"

"Your _mom_?" someone gasped.

"But you said she was dead," Cassandra frowned.

Pyro looked more closely at the picture, "We theorised that she might have faked her death. Her body was never found. In fact, we think _she's_ the Cartëasis who discovered constantium. It makes perfect sense that she'd be in this photograph, and that she'd be working with Magneto."

"I hate her. I wish she _was_ dead," Gemini spat.

Cassandra still looked confused, "But you said your mother gave you to the researcher – Van Gaarde – because she hated mutants. Why's she working with Magneto? Does she know he's a mutant? And why did he allow her to do that to you?"

"Maybe the other eleven don't know who he really is," someone suggested.

Pyro said, "This explains how Magneto knew where to tell me to find Gemini all those years ago. He must have found out what her mother did, and sent me to get her out."

"So she's the one who developed this constantium stuff?" Dominic said.

"That's right," said Chloe. "As far as we know she worked in conjunction with Naval researchers to do it. Admiral McKenzie was obviously the go-between."

"And Magneto clearly has a plan for the constantium," Pyro went on. "He must have a large supply of the metal if he can afford to waste some of it on engraving those badges. I wonder, does it have any special properties other than its strength?"  
"Does it need anything more?" Logan asked.

"Um – " Marina began uncertainly.

"Marina?" Chloe prompted her gently.

"It – um – it might be nothing, but – but there was some constantium in McKenzie's house when we were – when we were there. It was in a – a box labelled **Constantium Samples #1-5**. There was – there was something making Annie and Gary lose consciousness. Something was a – affecting their telepathy. Maybe it was – maybe it was the constantium."

"It blocks telepathy?" said Pyro. "In that case I wonder if it's based on the material Magneto's helmet was made from."

"Which was what, precisely?" said Logan.

"I have no idea; he never said."

"Ah, but there was some of it on the island when you were last there. Wasn't there?"

"Yes. Part of a room Magneto built, somewhere to go where he could be safe from Xavier and Cerebro."

Chloe nodded, "If we can take a look at it, it might give us some clues about constantium."

"You forget: the island was destroyed by the Horsemen."

"Of course. I'd forgotten. Is it possible that the metal survived?"

"I don't know. You want to find out?"

"Yes," said Chloe. "The more we know about constantium, the more we know about what Magneto is capable of using it for. Marina?"

"Y – yeah?"

"I want you to look into this. The island was only a few miles from the shore. John will give you the co-ordinates. Can you swim there?"

"Easily."

"Right. I want you to look through what's left of the Brotherhood's island and try to find some trace of this metal. Bring back anything you find."

"You – you got it."

"As for the rest of us," said Chloe. "Dominic, Cassandra, stay here and work on finding out who the other people in this photograph are. Vertigo, Atlas, it's possible the school could come under attack again. I want you to be on the lookout and help defend it. Gemini, I'd like you to find out where your mother was working when she developed constantium. Pyro, you can help her."

"Hey, wait a minute!" Gemini protested. "You can't tell me and my dad what to do!"

"Honey, relax," her father said. "It's OK. We can probably find out from your sister what we need to know."

Chloe continued, "Our main problem is we have no idea where Magneto is based. Logan, I want you to work on tracking down Mystique. There must be something she can tell us. I don't believe that she simply lied to us. There was no reason to do it. Perhaps Magneto has deceived her too. Perhaps she can help us find him."

"What do you expect me to do?" Logan retorted. "Tracking her down is like tracking down a brain cell in Cyclops' head."

"Anything you can think of. Find out where she met up with Pyro recently and try to pick up her scent. Maybe you can coax her into meeting you. We know she likes you," she said, ignoring his growl.

"All right, I'll try," he shrugged. "I think it's a stupid idea though. What about you, what are you gonna do?"  
"I'm going to try and get in touch with Neil. We need him here if Magneto is going to try his mind control on us. OK. Any questions? Right, then let's get moving."

As the others moved into action, Chloe was suddenly surprised at how easily she'd handled that. She had never known any real leadership qualities before. It had just come to her naturally. Logan the eternal loner and Pyro the worried father both clearly had no interest in taking charge of the situation, so Chloe did what she often did, simply slipping into the role where she was needed.

Dominic and Cassandra found themselves alone in the room as the rest hurried to their various tasks. They pulled up chairs and sat in front of the computer. Cassandra picked up the pad of paper Chloe had been writing the names on. There were twelve question marks, the first five of which had names beside them: **Robert Worcester, Ahmed Al-Sayed, Karen Auberschwift, Ellen Marshall, Peter McKenzie**. The sixth question mark was labelled: **School Attacker (name unknown)**. The seventh had **Elena Cartëasis (Alexandra's mother) **written beside it. Question marks eight through eleven were still blank. The twelfth and final question mark was labelled: **Magneto**.

"So we still don't know who four of these twelve are," she said. "And we don't really know how they all link together. I mean, it's obvious each of them brings something unique to the group. But why and when did they all come together? How did Magneto convince them to join his conspiracy? He must have promised them something, but what? It can't be money or power, because most of them have that already. It can't be some kind of political or religious crusade, because they all come from different backgrounds."

Dominic shrugged, "There must be something they have in common. There must be something that links them. What do we know about them? Let's go through them in turn and see if some kind of pattern emerges."

Cassandra pointed her pen at the top of the list, "Worcester. All I know about him is that he owns something like a half of all newspapers and TV stations in America."

"And in Britain. He _is_ English, you know."

"There was something in the news about him last year, but I can't remember exactly what. I think he'd just bought up one of his biggest rivals, and he'd gotten into all kinds of trouble about the deal not being entirely legal. Rumour said he was going to be sued for billions, but he managed to escape in the end. In fact – now that I think about it – I'm pretty certain _she_ was the lawyer who represented him."

She was pointing to the third name on the list.

"Auberschwift?" said Dominic. "She's his lawyer? Well, there's a link right away. We should find out if she's ever defended any of the others."

"I can think of another link. Cartëasis worked on the constantium project together with the Navy, didn't she? And McKenzie works in Navy research. They must have come together at some point."

"Right. Here, I reckon we ought to concentrate on working out who the anonymous four are. When we have names for all twelve, we'll probably see more links."

Both of them looked back at the digital photograph still on the computer screen. The anonymous four were all men, but neither Dominic nor Cassandra recognised any of them.

"I have an idea," she said, hitting the print button.

Waiting a few moments for Chloe's colour printer to spit out a hard copy of the image, Cassandra walked to the door. As she had expected, Acceleratus was hovering outside, hoping to find out what was going on.

"Cassie, Cassie, tell me what's happening!"

"I will, honey, but you do something for me first, OK? I want you to show this picture to all your friends."

With her pen she circled the four unidentified men, and went on, "If anyone recognises one of these four, let me know, OK?"

"OK, Cassie!"

The little girl hurried away clutching the picture, and Cassandra went back into the office.

"Kids have good memories for faces," she explained to Dominic. "Even if they don't know who these guys are, there's a chance they might have seen them before somewhere."

"Which gives us time to concentrate on finding out how they all link together. Nicely done."

"Thank you."

He hesitated, "Um, Cassandra – "

"Yes?"

"Have you given any thought to what I said before? About us?"

"Well…not really."

"I…" he swallowed nervously. "…I think we could be happy together. Why don't you give it a chance to see if it works out?"

She sighed, "Look, Helios, can we just concentrate on what we're meant to be doing here?"

"I told you, you can call me Dominic."

"And I told _you_ I only use mutant names."

He was silent for a moment, then he said, "Don't you have a name? Didn't your parents – well…"

Cassandra was angry now, "Don't talk about them!"

"Sorry. But – they must have given you a name. You must have found out somehow."

"No, they didn't! They abandoned me the day I was born, and never bothered to give me a name! Now would you drop this already, please?"

"Yeah. Yeah. Sorry."

"Let's get on with what we're meant to be doing. We're wasting time."

* * *

Gemini had headed straight for the communications room, holding the piece of paper that gave her sister's phone number. Placing the call, she waited for Melody to pick up. It took four rings. 

"Hello?" came the bright and cheery voice of Gemini's older sister.

"Mel?" she said, remembering she'd called her that in years gone by.

"Alex! It's great to hear from you!"

"Yeah, you too. Listen, can I ask you a question? It's, like, really important."

"Sure, go ahead."

"Where did – " she stopped herself just before she said 'Mom'. " – where did your mother used to work?"

Her sister replied, "Well, all over the country, really. It depended on who she was working for."

"Oh. Well, I'm trying to find out where she was working on a certain project. I think she working for, or with, the US Navy."

"Ah, then it'd be the ocean labs down here in Florida. What's this about, sis? I thought you said you hated Mom and wanted nothing to do with her."

Gemini didn't want to be too specific, "I'm just trying to clear up something. Thanks, Mel."

"Any time. Oh, hey, that reminds me! There was somebody else came by the house earlier today. They were asking about Mom as well. I think it was one of your friends."

"Huh?"

"You remember, the first time you ever came here, before the Plague was destroyed? You had some friends with you. Well, one of them came by today, asking about the name Cartëasis. I told him what I just told you."

Gemini frowned, "Was it Gladiator?"

"I didn't get his name. But there was something funny about his eyes…"

"Oh, right, then I know who you're talking about. It doesn't make any sense, though; I thought he was…no, it doesn't matter. Thanks loads, Mel. I'll see you later."

"OK. Love ya, baby sister."

They hung up, and Gemini tried to make sense out of the confusion in her mind. Melody said Gladiator had been at her house. She must have been talking about his golden eyes. But hadn't Gladiator been captured by Magneto? That was what Aqua had just told them. Maybe he'd gotten away. Yeah. He must have escaped. But why had he gone to Melody's house? Had he gotten some clue about her mother's involvement in the constantium project? That had to be it. Well, it wasn't _that_ surprising, really. She couldn't imagine Gladiator staying imprisoned anywhere for long. But why hadn't he gotten in touch with the school to let them know he was free? Maybe he couldn't. Maybe he was too busy.

Casting it aside, she hurried out of the room, narrowly avoiding running into Gaia. She had to find Dad and tell him what she had just found out about the ocean labs. Dad would probably want to go there and look for clues that would lead them to wherever Mom – _no_, _she's not my Mom any more_ – was hiding. That in turn would lead them to Magneto.

_But I don't get this,_ Gemini thought,_ why are we trying to stop Magneto? Isn't he on our side? Isn't he part of the Brotherhood too? And isn't he, like, **dead** as well? I don't get **any** of this!_

The fourteen year old cast her mind back, searching for memories of Magneto. It was true to say she'd never really known him. He'd never gotten close to her in the way that Mystique and, latterly, Dad had done. He was always kind of aloof, kind of above her. Not really in an arrogant way, but she was just a kid and he was an old man. There was too much of an age gap for them to get close. He had paid her little attention, and she had watched him from a distance. In a way, she had to admit she'd found him frightening. It was just the way that Dad and Mystique both looked up to him and treated him with ultra respect. And, well, if _Dad_ thought that way about someone, then he _had_ to be pretty special.

Wait, there was something else that didn't add up. Gemini now knew that Magneto had told Dad where to find her and rescue her from the abusive researchers. But it was Mom – _no, that's **not** her name_ – who had given her to the researchers in the first place…and now it looked like she was working with Magneto. _Hey, that makes no sense! Why would Magneto be working with the person who gave me away? Why would he let them do that? Why would he wait two whole years before telling Dad about me? He wouldn't do that to me – would he?_ Gemini suddenly realised she had no idea what Magneto would or wouldn't do. As memories of her two years of abuse came back to her, she felt tears creeping in at the corner of her eyes. But she wiped them away and thought furiously, _no, I'm not going to cry! Those bastards destroyed my life but I'm sure as hell not going to give in and let myself waste away. Everybody thinks I'm just a little sex toy they can use whenever they want, but I'm **not**, and I'm going to show the world that nobody can use me!_

She was at Dad's room now, and she pushed open the door to walk inside.

"Dad? I – oh, sorry…"

Pyro quickly put down the little photograph of his beloved Jacqueline before his daughter could see it, and he looked at her, "Did you call your sister?"

"Yeah, and I found out where her mother was probably working when she made the constantium. She said something about some ocean labs down in Florida. Are we gonna go there and look for her?"

"Yes."

"Dad, I'm confused," she went on immediately. "Why is Magneto doing this? Why has he forgotten about us? You, me, Mystique – don't we mean anything to him? Why did he let my mother give me to the researchers so they could rape me for two years?"

"Gemini, I don't know. I'm even more confused than you are. His actions don't fit in with the Magneto I used to know. Part of me can't believe it's really him; I keep thinking it must be some kind of deception, that it isn't really him. I mean, it _can't_ be him doing this. But we know it _is_, though. You heard what Aqua said. She saw him controlling metal."

"Yeah, I guess…but…"

"But what?"

"It's like everything he ever told us was a lie! He's working with humans and he's trying to kill mutants. He's trying to kill _us_. Was it all a lie? All the time he was leading the Brotherhood, was it just a lie? Was he running this human conspiracy in the background?"

"Impossible. No, something must have happened to him. Something must have changed him. Something must have changed his beliefs and his priorities."

"Xavier! Maybe he went into Magneto's mind and changed him. Like, just before Xavier died. Hey, that could be it! Xavier loved humans, right, and that fits in with what Magneto is doing now. Working with humans to destroy mutants! What if that's what he's really planning to do with the constantium? To kill all the mutants?"

"I don't know. I don't know. All I know is there's something going on here we can't see. Something will explain all this. There has to be a reason why Magneto is doing this, and I don't think we're going to get any closer to it by simple guesswork."

* * *

Chloe Rosiçky had entered the communications room just as Gemini had come hurrying out. The two of them had nearly collided, but both had managed to react in time to avoid each other. Chloe now activated one of the communicators and tried to make contact with her husband. She assumed he had taken his own personal communicator with him, but after several minutes of trying to establish contact, there was no response of any kind. 

_Perhaps he's busy,_ she thought. Chloe sighed and put her hands over her face, as if she could suck the tiredness out of her brain and into her palms. She couldn't think. She just couldn't concentrate at all. Her children was missing, and she had no idea where they were or what might be happening to them. She'd never felt this afraid for their safety before. Part of her still couldn't believe it was happening. Annie and Gary were supposed to be invincible. She'd convinced herself that her natural maternal worry for them was unnecessary. She'd been certain that they could defend themselves from any danger that might come their way. She'd believed, as they all had, that Annie and Gary together were indestructible.

But that was not the case. Magneto had discovered some weakness. Marina had said it was something to do with their telepathy. Something had been throwing off their power and distracting their concentration; something that had begun to affect them so badly that they lost consciousness entirely. Marina had obviously wanted to rescue them, to bring them back with her, but it hadn't been possible. Chloe understood. She didn't blame Marina. The girl had done remarkably well regardless, escaping with her own life _and_ the photographic evidence of Magneto and his co-conspirators.

_What's happening to them? What's happening to my children? Oh God, please keep them safe! Please let me see them again! Have I been neglecting my duty to protect them? Despite their powers, are they still too young and inexperienced to look after themselves without my help? Is this my fault?_

She tried again to contact Neil, but again met with no success.

_What will Magneto do to them? Has he already killed them? Does he even know who they are? Does he know that Neil and I married and started a family? Will he use them as a bargaining chip to keep us out of his way? Will our family emerge safe from this chaos? We've always managed to keep ourselves safe before…but I don't think we've ever faced an enemy like this before…

* * *

_

Marina was preparing to leave on her mission to the remains of the island. It wouldn't take her long to get there. There were underground streams somewhere on the estate that she was sure would eventually lead to the ocean. Swimming at full speed she knew it would take her no time at all. Pyro had given her the co-ordinates where the Brotherhood's island had once been. All she had to do was search through the underwater debris, for any trace of the telepathy-blocking material that Magneto had once used. Would there be a connection between it and constantium? It seemed likely. This new metal seemed to be the key to everything that was going on here. Magneto had obviously gone to incredible lengths to manufacture it and keep it secret. Marina guessed it was the metal that had disabled Annie and Gary. It had been among the samples in McKenzie's secret office. The closer they had got to it, the worse the effects had become. That had to be the explanation for it.

Then something else occurred to her. She had forgotten about the disk. The DVD ROM they had found hidden in the walls of her house, that had contained the secrets her family had been killed for. It had been all about McKenzie and his projects and corrupt friends. Maybe there was information on there that would help identify the mysterious conspirators who were working with Magneto. McKenzie was one of them, so it made sense that his other contacts would be among the rest of the twelve. She hurried to Fliss' office, where she'd last seen the disk. It was still there, and she took it to where Dominic and Cassandra were working.

Both of them looked round as Marina pushed open the door. Cassandra immediately glared at her, and Marina felt nervous. The two of them had never really spoken to each other, ever, and there was still a lot of bad feeling simmering on the surface. Marina hated it. She just wished it could be over. She just wished Cassandra would find something else to occupy her mind, and leave Marina alone. She swallowed, found her courage, and held up the disk, "Have, um, have a look at this. There – there might be something useful on it. We n – never really had the chance to examine it fully."

Cassandra didn't move, but Dominic reached over to take the DVD from her hand.

"What's on it?"

"It's – um – it's information about Admiral McKenzie. He's on your list. He's the one who – who killed my family."

"OK. We'll take a look."

As Marina left, Cassandra muttered, "Whore," just loud enough for the other girl to hear. Marina pretended she hadn't heard it, and hurried to the exit.

* * *

Pyro found Chloe in the communications room, still trying to contact Oculus. 

"Hey," he said. "Listen, my daughter called her sister and it looks like we've found out where constantium was developed. She said something about ocean labs down in Florida, and I think I know which ones she means. That seems like our next avenue of exploration."

She nodded, "Right. Once I've managed to call Neil, I'll come with you."

"Where is he at this moment?"

"In London, talking to the UN Security Council. He's trying to calm down the world-wide panic before it spreads out of control."

"London?"

"That's what I said, yes."

"But the UN isn't meeting in London. They're meeting here, in New York. It was on the news."

"Neil said he was going to London. You must have got it wrong."

"I don't think so. Check and see."

It was the work of a few minutes for them to log into one of the computers and search for the topic online. Pyro was right. The UN were meeting in New York, not London.

"So what's Neil doing there?" Chloe demanded.

"You're his wife. You tell me."

She went on, "And why can't I contact him? I checked and his communicator's not here. He must have it with him."

"You don't think he's in any danger? You don't think he met Magneto?"

"Not in London, I shouldn't think. But _why_ did he go there? There must be something else there. But what is it and why didn't he tell us? Why didn't he tell _me_?"

"No idea, Chloe. Look, I'm going to try and find out more about these ocean labs. I'll let you know what I find."

"OK. I'll keep trying to call Neil."

Gemini was standing silently in the doorway, watching the conversation between the two adults. She didn't particularly care that Oculus was missing – he'd turn up – but she was beginning to get restless. They had to do something. They had to act _now_ to find out what was going on! It seemed majorly stupid to just be sitting around here fact-finding when they ought to be out there fighting the enemy. Every second they wasted was one extra second in which their enemies' plans – whatever those were – might be coming to fruition.


	20. Chapter Nineteen: Mental Breakdown

"All right," said Chloe. "Everybody report."

It was later in the day and they were all assembled once more in one of the meeting rooms.

"Marina, what did you find?"

"N – nothing. There was nothing there."

"Nothing at _all_?" said Gemini. "Not even wreckage, debris?"

"No. Nothing."

"And you were definitely at the right co-ordinates?" Chloe asked.

Pyro and Marina both nodded.

"I don't understand it; there should at least have been _some_thing there."

"I guess somebody else got there before us," Pyro said.

"You mean Magneto?" said Gemini. "You think he took whatever was there?"

"I can't think of another explanation. Who else knows the co-ordinates of the island?"

"OK," said Chloe. "Logan, how about you?"

Wolverine looked at her, "Well, I went to the café where Pyro and the kid met Mystique. I picked up her scent and followed it as well as I could, but I lost it before it took me anywhere interesting."

"Nice work," Gemini muttered.

"There is one thing, though," said Logan. "There was another scent there I recognised."

"Go on," said Chloe.

Logan turned to Pyro, "You remember when we were in the prison, we'd just escaped from the cells? I said I could smell somebody I recognised, but I didn't know them well enough to pinpoint exactly."

"You smelled them again?"

"Right."

"So who was it?" Gemini demanded.

"Oh, use your brain, kid. Somebody who was at the prison, and who's also been with Mystique recently? Magneto, of course."

"No way! Mystique can't be involved in this! Magneto maybe, but not her! She was – "

_She was like a mother to me_, was what she wanted to say, but she didn't. She couldn't reveal her secret feelings to anyone except maybe Dad. Chloe moved on, "Dominic? Cassandra? Did you make any progress with the photo?"

"We identified two of the four who were still unknown," said Dominic. "It was on this disk Marina gave us. Both of them have links with Admiral McKenzie and the research work he does. One of them is a big name in the shipbuilding industry; I think his name is Kelvin or something. His company takes a lot of contracts from the Navy to build warships."

"Gregory Kelvin?" said Chloe. "Yes, I've heard of him."

"The second one we identified is yet another billionaire; he owns factories and mines and mass production facilities all over the world. Seems he provides a lot of the raw materials and component parts for – surprise – the shipbuilding industry."

"Does he have a name?" Vertigo wondered.

"Oh, yeah. John Smith."

"We're assuming that is actually his real name," said Cassandra dryly. "Anyway, we still don't know who these last two anonymous guys are. We can't tell much from the photo, except that the two of them don't look as if they see sunlight very much."

"Well, that narrows it down to the computer industry," Pyro said sarcastically. "No, seriously, that's good work, Cassie."

Pyro was not one for giving out praise often, if ever, and she blinked in surprise, "Wow – thanks."

"Anyway, we then had an idea," said Dominic. "Suppose Magneto wants these two to build him a ship?"

"Or…" Cassandra grinned. "A submarine."

Marina's eyes widened.

"We looked through the rest of the photographs in the camera's memory," Dominic explained. "We saw the plans for a submarine. I used to build models so I know a bit about them. I recognised it straight away."

"So what does he want with a submarine?" asked Atlas.

"We don't know," Cassandra admitted. "That's all we have so far. The other question we raised is: what incentive is Magneto offering these people? I mean, half of them are already billionaires. How has he convinced them to join him?"

"Mind control," Logan suggested.

"No," said Chloe. "He doesn't have enough power to control all of their minds, all of the time. I think even the Professor might have struggled to do that."

"All right, so what's he offering them? The chance to live while he slaughters everyone else?"

"I doubt it," said Pyro. "Most of these eleven people make their money through the efforts or transactions of other people. I don't see why they would support an attempt to see the world's population wiped out. Assuming that is what Magneto is trying to do. I don't know; there's something…something we just can't see…"

For a moment there was silence.

"Is it my turn now?" said Gemini. "OK, I phoned my sister. She said that my – her mother – used to do her research work at the ocean labs down in Florida."

"Oh yeah?" said Cassandra. "That's where Kelvin carries out his shipbuilding contracts for the Navy. Right, Helios?"

"That's right."

"I bet if we go there, we'll find some clues," Gemini said eagerly. "We might even find Magneto himself. This is where it all comes together, isn't it? The shipbuilding…the constantium research…do you think that's where he's based? At the ocean labs?"

"More importantly, it might be where he's holding your friends," said Pyro.

"Sounds good to me," said Logan. "Let's go. Chloe, you agree?"

Chloe frowned, "I still haven't been able to get hold of Neil, and I'm confused. We know he went to London, but he don't know why. He said he was going to talk to the UN but they're over here in America. He must have gone there for some other reason."

"Are you sure he actually went there?" Pyro said. "Did you actually see him leave?"

"Well…no. The last time I saw him, he was downstairs. He said he was just picking up a few things, but I don't know what. He was actually heading towards Cerebro, which is kind of strange now I come to think of it."

"Maybe he's trying to use it to find Magneto," Gemini suggested. "Maybe he changed his mind about going to London."

"Let's go and find out."

Pyro looked at Vertigo, "You guys start getting ready to go to the ocean labs. We'll take the helicopter. And make sure Accel stays here this time."

"You got it, boss."

The teenagers hurried off in the direction of the hangar, and the three adults made for Cerebro. Chloe wondered if Neil was in there, as Gemini had suggested. Maybe he had made a mistake about London, and realised the UN were really here in New York instead. Maybe he had decided to go there after trying to find Magneto. That sounded reasonable, but hadn't Neil still been talking about London when Chloe had seen him going towards Cerebro? Or had he? She couldn't remember clearly. Well, they would know soon enough if he was in there.

The door to the machine was now programmed to respond to retinal scans from all of the senior X-Men, and Chloe knelt down a few feet away to allow the scanner to read her eyes. She then stood, expecting the door to slide open, but nothing happened.

"It's not working."

"Let me try," said Logan impatiently.

They switched places, and the scanner swept over his eyes. Again, the door remained closed.

"He must be in there," said Chloe. "He must be using the machine; that's why it won't open."

"No. If that was true, the scanner wouldn't even have worked. It's locked us out, even though there's nobody in there."

Pyro folded his arms and yawned, "I'm not getting any younger here, guys."

"Something's wrong; it won't let us in," said Chloe. "Wait here; I'll fetch Marina."

"Why her?"

"The problem might be in the computer system that controls access to Cerebro. If so, she can take a look at it. She's no expert, but she's the next best thing."

"All right, then go get her."

Within a couple of minutes, Chloe returned with Marina in tow. The adults watched while the girl accessed the computer system. Feeling their eyes on her, Marina was self-conscious and nervous, but she tried hard to keep her concentration on what she was doing. After a few minutes, she looked up and said to Chloe, "The – the computer was programmed not to allow anybody access. I've fixed it."

"What was it, a computer error?"

"N – no, somebody must have changed the access rights. Was – was anybody using the machine recently?"

"Yes, Neil was…but why would he want to lock us out? I don't understand."

Logan shrugged, "Maybe so Magneto couldn't control our minds to get in."

Chloe looked into the scanner once more, and this time it accepted her retinal data, and the door slid open.

"Neil?" she called. "Are you in there?"

The huge spherical room was empty. She walked carefully along the platform to the terminal at the end. Nervous at being left with the two men, Marina followed her. Chloe instantly noticed that something was wrong with the Cerebro terminal. It took her a few seconds to realise exactly what, and then she wondered why she had seen something so obvious straight away.

The helmet was missing. Curious and slightly suspicious, she opened up the side of the machine, to examine the interior. Chloe knew little about the mechanics of Cerebro or how it worked, but it was obvious even to her untrained eye that several components were missing. Marina had clearly noticed too, "What – what gives, Chloe?"

"I don't know, Marina."

Was this what Neil meant when he said he had to 'pick up a couple of things'? Where has he taken these components? What is he trying to do with them?

"Well?" Logan said, as the two women emerged from the room.

"I don't understand," said Chloe in confusion. "Some parts of Cerebro are gone. I don't know enough about how the machine works, but it looks as if most of the important components have been stripped out. Neil must have them with him, wherever he is."

"Like I said, he's trying to stop Magneto from using it," Logan told her. "He's probably gone to hide them somewhere."

Chloe brightened, "I suppose that would explain it. I wish he'd told me what he was planning to do, though. Well, we've got no time to lose. We'd better get ready to head down to Florida."

The four of them began to head for the hangar, until Chloe stopped in mid-stride, frowning, "Wait a minute…something doesn't feel right…"

"What are you talking about?" one of the men said impatiently.

"I don't know…I can't explain it…I have to check something. Wait for me in the hangar; I'll be there in a minute!"

She turned and hurried away, back towards the meeting room. Logan and Pyro looked at each other, shrugged, and went the rest of the way to the hangar trying not to look as if they were together. Marina nervously followed. She was generally uncertain around men, particularly very masculine, aggressive types such as these. When they reached the hangar she was glad to hurry over and stand beside Gemini. Of all the former Brotherhood students, Gemini was the only one Marina had really come to see as any kind of a friend. Both of them had unhappy memories from their past, and that gave them a mutual bond that was beginning to develop into friendship. Both were content to be in the other's company, and that was really all that either of them asked. Gemini smiled at her, and Marina gave a small, uncertain one in return.

"We're ready to go, boss," Vertigo was heard to say. "Say, the Neanderthal Man's not coming with us, is he?"

Logan gave him a look that told him not to push his luck. Vertigo replied with a look that showed how much he didn't care.

"We're just waiting for Gaia," said Pyro. "I think she's just checking one or two final things."

"Accel's upstairs," Cassandra assured him. "She's asleep."

"I hope she learned her lesson last time. Ah, here comes Gaia."

Suddenly Chloe came running into the hangar, and it soon became evident that something was wrong.

"Logan, John, there's something I have to show you! It's serious; it can't wait. You have to come _now_!"

"All right."

"Wait a minute, what about the ocean labs?" Vertigo interrupted. "We're sitting here, ready to go!"

Pyro looked at him, "Go. You take command."

Vertigo rolled his eyes, "I'd rather not. You know I don't – "

"_Him_?" Logan had snapped. "He's a lazy, good-for-nothing – "

"He can do it," Pyro retorted. "Vertigo, I'm counting on you."

"Fine," the boy said reluctantly. "I won't let you down."

"Good. And Vertigo – keep an eye on Gemini. I – just keep her safe, all right?"

"Yeah, whatever."

"I'm serious. I'm holding you responsible for anything that happens to her."

"Hey, wait a second! You can't put that responsibility on my shoulders just like that!"

Pyro glared at him, "Just do it. I think you owe her that much."

The boy sighed, "Yeah – maybe I do."

"Now go. And good luck."

* * *

"Wait a minute!" Gemini cried. "Aren't they coming with us? Isn't my dad coming with us?"

"No," said Vertigo. "They have another problem."

"What are you talking about? Where's my dad going?"

"He didn't say. Now sit down and help me navigate here."

Gemini frowned, but her determination to complete the mission overcame her doubts. She looked back to the others, "Helios, are you done with the maps?"

"Not yet. Look, Vertigo – are you looking? – I think I've found something. There's an old, disused ventilation shaft here. It runs right through this section of cliff directly into the heart of the ocean labs. It might be blocked, at least partially, but that could be our way in."

"If it's collapsed, it's not much good to us," Cassandra said.

Atlas moved closer, "I can probably clear a way through, but I'd like to know exactly what our objective is for this mission. I'm too used to Pyro just telling us what to do once we get there."

"All right," said Vertigo. "We're looking for something that will tell us what Magneto and his eleven co-conspirators are doing. That means checking their computer system, searching the labs, possibly interrogating anyone we run into."

"What if we run into Magneto?"

"Yeah, I was wondering that," said Gemini. "I mean, is he still on our side or what? My dad doesn't know what to think. What do we do if run into him?"

Vertigo shrugged, "I guess that depends on what he does first."

Marina spoke up, "He – he tried to kill me ear – earlier, remember."

"That's perfectly understandable," Cassandra said acidly.

"Hey, quit giving her a hard time," said Gemini.

An uncomfortable silence fell between the three girls, which none of the guys wanted to intrude on. Marina still resented Cassandra's hostility; Cassandra was bitter and wanted to get back at her in any way she could; and Gemini was worried about how to balance her two friends without appearing to favour either of them. Eventually each of them decided the best thing was to find something else to do, to take her mind off it. Gemini moved forward to help Vertigo navigate. Cassandra went to the rear of the helicopter to take an inventory of their supplies. Marina had brought a laptop computer with her, and was busily typing away.

"What are you doing?" Dominic asked her.

She looked up in surprise, "I, uh, I downloaded the contents of Admiral McKenzie's computer on to portable disk. I'm – I'm trying to d – decrypt it. Maybe it'll tell us more about Mag – Mag – Magneto's plans."

"Getting anywhere?"

"N – not really. This encryption is – is way beyond my expertise. I really wanted Chris to take a look at it."

He hesitated, "Um – how are you coping? I mean, with Annie and Gary missing…"

"I'm fine."

"Good. I just thought, well, that you might be taking it kinda badly."

She sighed, "I'm not crazy, D – Dominic. I'm just mending, that's all."

"OK. Well, if there's anything I can do…I mean, I know it isn't easy for you…"

Marina said nothing. She knew he was saying these things because he genuinely did want to help her, but did he really have to speak to her in that patronising tone of voice? And why was he sitting so far away while he was talking to her? Was he deliberately keeping his distance from her in case she flipped out or something? Did he genuinely care, or did he just pity her? Marina didn't want anyone's pity. It didn't help her in any way. She wanted to be healed of her illness and live a normal life again. She didn't want to be treated any differently from anyone else. If people treated her different, it made her _feel_ different. _No. I can't think about that now. I have to focus. This is important._ She returned her thoughts to what she was doing. She had no idea if she would have any success breaking through the encryption. The first thing to do was work out what kind of encryption was being used. Once she knew the method McKenzie had used, she might be able to make a stab at working out the key. The laptop she was using was Chris', and it had a selection of decryption programs he had written, but only one or two that might be advanced enough for the work she needed to do. To use them, however, she first had to work out the method of encryption. Once she knew that, she could set the decryption algorithm to try and work out the key.

Dominic watched her as she worked. He knew she was having difficulties, but at the same time he knew she had made an immense amount of improvement. He remembered the first time he had seen her, when she had first arrived at the school, a tear-sodden bundle who shrank away from anyone who approached, flinched when she was touched, and refused to speak to anyone. She had spent most of her time just huddled on her bed, unkempt and dirty, seeming largely unaware of what was going on around her. She rarely ate, and only then when food was given directly to her. Dominic had not been told anything of her history or her problems. The adults seemed to think it was best to let him approach her with an open mind, and hoped that his friendship might begin to heal her. He had been uncertain at first, but had tried his best to help her whenever he could.

She was much better now. Although she was still reluctant to speak and still nervous in unfamiliar circumstances, she seemed reasonably comfortable with the people and places she knew. She could eat, dress, and enjoy herself now. But as much as he wanted to think she was on the mend, he still could never forget what she had been like originally. He'd hated seeing her like that, and he was worried to think that she might end up that way again. He found himself reluctant to go near her or speak to her too harshly, in case he did something that hurt her and sent her back to the way she'd been before. There wasn't really anything he could to help her, other than just being her friend, but he wished there was. Dominic's twin brother Recyclo had suffered equally terribly from mental scarring and emotional trauma, and Dominic had been determined to help him get through it and be whole again. He'd never had the chance. Recyclo had died. Now he was determined to try and do for Marina what he hadn't been able to do for his brother. He believed that every woman needed a man to protect her. A bit sexist perhaps, but it was just instinct. Gary was the one who looked after Marina, but now that Gary wasn't around – well, perhaps it was Dominic's job for the time being.

He glanced over at Cassandra and gave her a smile, which she didn't return. She looked away from him and returned to what she was doing, sorting through the crates they had brought with them. Atlas was kneeling beside the opened medical crate, no doubt checking on his supplies of herbal mixtures and other remedies. Dominic moved over towards Cassandra.

"Do you need any help?" he asked her.

"No."

"Are you sure?"

She said nothing. He sat down beside her and watched as she carefully picked through the items inside the electronics crate. Either she was ignoring him or she was waiting for him to say something else.

"When this is all over," he tried. "When we've got some time to ourselves, to think things over more clearly…"

She turned to face him, and angrily hissed under her breath, "Helios! Just forget it! There's nothing to think over! There's nothing between us and there isn't going to be! Will you just drop it!"

"Cassandra – Cassie – listen to me. This isn't just a momentary infatuation. I'm crazy about you; I've been that way since you moved into the school. I don't want you to think it's just for your looks, because it isn't. I've seen the way you care for the kids, the littl'uns. I think you're wonderful with them and I want to get to know you better."

"You're wasting your breath."

"Won't you even give me a chance?"

"No."

"Why not?"

She slapped away the hand that he tried to rest gently on her arm, "Because you're a man, and all men are the same! You'd either end up treating me like your personal property, or you'd ditch me in a second when somebody better came along. Don't pretend that you've fallen in love with me. Men aren't capable of feeling love. All they feel is lust, and their most basic animal instinct to reproduce. All they want is constant sex."

Bitterly she glared at the back of Marina's head, "That whore will find that out soon enough, when she gets pregnant for the first time. I hope it destroys her mind, or what's left of it."

"I don't believe you just said that," came his shocked voice. "You can't mean that."

"Can't I? Do you have any idea how it feels? To be in love, to have a future with somebody you would die for, to plan out your life and your family with them, to have all that to look forward to – and then to have it stolen away from you? Do you know what it's like to pour out your heart to somebody, to tell them things you would never tell another living soul, to share intimate moments that you would only ever share with the person you want to spend the rest of your life with? Do you know what it's like to have your love, your future, your children stolen away by some whining, conniving, screwed-up little whore? Do you? Huh? Do you have any idea?"

"No, I don't. But you need to forget all that. You need to move on. Don't forget, she lost everything she ever loved as well."

Cassandra was thankful that he got up and left at that point. Her feelings were going crazy. Her mouth was running away with itself, taking words from her brain and spitting them out before she could think them through. Everything she had just said was true; that _was_ the way she felt, but she'd never told it to anyone before. Not even Gemini. Why Helios? Why hadn't she just ignored him until he gave up? Why had she had to spill out her angst like a burning cauldron of oil? Why had she felt – _known_ – that he could be trusted to keep her secrets to himself?

_What the hell is wrong with me? Why the hell am I acting so crazy? Why can't I just forget everybody and be myself? Gladiator's a bastard and Aqua's a whore and Helios is – well, whatever – but why can't I just forget them? Why doesn't my brain do what I tell it to? Why can't I think about other things? He's right, I need to move on, but I **can't** – my brain won't let me. Why can't I just pretend they don't exist and I never loved Gladiator and I don't care that he's with her and…oh, I don't know. I don't care what happens to them, I really don't, so why the hell can't I stop thinking about them? I've already decided I've given up on men forever, so why do I still care?_

_It's because I want to have babies. I know I do; I've never tried to deny it to myself. It's my dream, to have my own children and raise them and care for them and love them forever. But, of course, I can't have children if I don't get married. **That's** why I'm confused. I hate men and I never want to marry, but I want kids so I have to. There isn't any way around it. Well, I suppose there are impregnation treatments I could go for, but I don't want to do that. I want the whole process to be natural, or it won't feel right. This is what's messing me up. My desire for kids and my hatred of men are fighting against each other and tearing me apart. _

_And that's why I'm falling in love with Helios. There's no point in denying it any more. He probably sees it, but he doesn't understand what it really means. I can't control my feelings and I can't control my passions. They control me. My brain knows I want babies so it makes me fall in love. I fall in love too easily, with men I shouldn't, and then everything falls apart. I'm a total mess…I'm driven by an impulse that's so strong it's warping the rest of my feelings._

She wanted to cry. _I called Aqua a whore but **I'm** the one who's ready to sleep with just about anyone just to have the children I want. I can't have a normal relationship with a guy because I'm not a normal person. I'm warped and messed-up and crazy._

Cassandra glared at Aqua and thought savagely, _why couldn't you just stay dead, you little whore? If you'd never come back, I'd still be with Gladiator and I'd be happy and he'd be happy and we'd have our future together. I'd be pregnant now and ready to have my first baby. He'd be ready to marry me and stay with me forever. I wouldn't be sitting here feeling like a cheap little slut who'll drop her panties for anyone who looks as if he might pass on some good genes. I don't understand why I've always wanted babies. I don't understand why I feel so strongly about it. I always have done. When I was at the orphanage, I remember I used to find little animals in the gardens and pretend I was their mother and look after them. Maybe it's because my own parents abandoned me and never spent any time caring for me or loving me. Maybe that's been missing from my life and my brain has gotten confused, and now it's trying to make up by cramming in maternal feelings now. Or something. Maybe I'm just crazy._

Tears brimmed in her eyes. _That's right, I'm just a crazy, messed-up whore. Any children I have will turn out the same as me. I'd just be condemning to be what I am. I'm crazy; I must be; why else am I having these stupid thoughts? I can't take this. I can't take this! I CAN'T TAKE THIS!_

She stood, her head spinning, her vision swimming in front of her eyes. Her confused and shocked mind had only one thought: end this agony before I go even more crazy. She lurched towards the helicopter's door, and swiped at the opening mechanism. The door slid open silently, and she was suddenly buffeted by the force of the air outside. Cassandra closed her eyes, and stepped towards the gaping doorway. Her vision swam one last time and then there was only blackness.

* * *

"Is she OK?"

"Cassie? Cassie, wake up!"

"What _happened_? Did she hit the door release by accident?"

"Cassie?"

"Here, put this under her head."

Cassandra felt her head being gently lifted, and something soft placed underneath. She gave a slight moan as she returned to full consciousness, and she opened her eyes.

"Hey, you're awake!" Gemini smiled. "Are you OK?"

"I – I don't know…I don't remember…I just sort of blacked out…what happened?"

Helios was kneeling beside her with his hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently to reassure her. She could have told him to quit it, but she found she liked having him there. He spoke now, "We heard the door open and we looked over to see you about to fall out. What were you trying to do?"

"I – I don't understand. I was feeling really strange. All of my emotions were going crazy and I felt so terrible. I just wanted to die."

"You were going to _jump_?" Gemini cried.

"I suppose I was. I don't know what came over me. I feel OK _now_. I just felt as if…"

No. My most tender and personal feelings. I can't tell them to anyone.

"It was just crazy," she said. "It was as if all of my emotions and desires were amplified a hundred times and pulling against each other and trying to rip my mind into shreds. I couldn't take it; I just had to do _some_thing to stop it."

"Sounds like you OD-ed on something," Atlas replied. "You haven't been messing around with my herb stores, have you? There's stuff in there that might make your mind go a bit weird."

"No, I haven't done anything that would bring on this. It was just so sudden. It was really strange."

Gemini frowned, "I felt something strange too. I didn't mention it because I thought I'd just imagined it. I was afraid you might all think I was crazy or something. But now, with this, maybe it really _was_ something."

"What was it?" said Helios.

"Well – it's hard to describe," said the duplicator, her hand running through her long dark hair. "My dad's just started teaching me how to defend my mind from telepaths, OK? It'll take ages before I'm as good at it as he is, but I've gotten a handle on the basics. I can kind of, like, sense when my mind is under attack. I think that's what I was feeling just now. I think a telepath was trying to get into our minds. Maybe that's what had Cassie so confused."

Cassandra closed her eyes for a second, then opened them again, "You think that's what happened? Somebody pushed into my mind and screwed around with my feelings? Then made me go crazy and try to kill myself?"

"Could Magneto do that?" asked Atlas.

"Dunno," said Gemini. "Hey, Vertigo, where are we?"

"Just coming up on Florida," came his voice from up front.

"Then maybe we _are_ close enough for him to affect us telepathically. But I just can't believe he would _do_ that. That's, like, just about the cruellest way he could kill somebody."

Cassie looked at her best friend, "Will you be able to sense it if he tries again?"

Gemini shrugged, "I can't be certain. I'll try my hardest."

"So this means he knows we're coming," said Atlas, a little nervously.

"Yes. He'll be waiting for us," said Vertigo. "He must have sensed our approach. Gemini, you're going to have to shield us from his telepathy from now on."

She stared at him, "Well, I'll do my _best_, but I really have only just started learning."

"It'll have to be good enough. OK, we're almost at the ocean labs. Start getting ready; unload everything we need."

The others moved into action. Cassandra sat up, feeling her legs to see if they would support her. They felt fine. Every part of her felt fine. There was no trace of the dizziness and utter confusion that had overwhelmed her not so long ago. Already she couldn't believe that she had been feeling so strangely. Sure, she still felt the sadness and the bitterness and the anger, but it was under her control. Earlier it had exploded out beyond anything she could possibly handle. Had Magneto been responsible? Was that his telepathy, messing with her mind, trying to drive her to take her own life? Why had he picked on her specifically? If he was looking for a fragile mind, why not try Aqua?

"Hey, Cassie," said Gemini.

She looked over. Her best friend moved closer and whispered, "I don't know if you know this, but Helios saved your life. He pulled you back just before you could fall out. I think he really likes you."

"Well…tell him thanks."

"Tell him yourself."

Cassie sighed. She didn't want to face Helios right now. She didn't want to risk falling even deeper in love with him. She wanted to pull out while she still could. She wanted him to do something stupid and thoughtless, so she could justifiably hate him. She wanted her body and brain to stop disobeying her, and to stop finding him so appealing. She needed something to take her mind off him. She stood and went to help the others.


	21. Chapter Twenty: Teens at War

They approached the labs from the ocean, hoping to avoid detection that way. The chopper's radar-jamming systems kept them safe from any scanning equipment inside the labs. Gemini was concentrating hard on trying to sense any telepathic activity. So far, she'd sensed nothing. Either Magneto was no longer trying to get into their minds, or he was doing it too subtly for her to notice.

The ocean labs were built into the side of a cliff, with the main harbour and docks protruding into the Atlantic. Further along the base of the cliff they found a series of caves, and Vertigo managed to manouevre the helicopter into one of them. They hoped it would remain hidden there. The next thing to do was find a way inside the labs. That seemed easier said than done. The place looked to be heavily guarded, both by electronics and humans. Vertigo and Helios were together, discussing a plan of entry, and Atlas and the girls went to join them.

Vertigo took charge of the situation, "Right, Magneto's already tried to kill Cassie with his mind power, so he definitely knows we're here. This makes our job a hell of a lot more difficult. We were hoping to take him by surprise, but obviously he's aware of our presence, and presumably our intent as well."

One or two of the others glanced around nervously, in case Magneto was about to jump out and attack. Vertigo went on, "Clearly common sense would tell us to give up and go home. He has powers we can't hope to fight. But going home now will just leave us open to whatever he's going to do. All we can do is try and find some info on his plans. If we can throw a spanner in the works, we might be able to stop him, and save some of our own kind."

"I can't believe he's trying to hurt mutants, but the evidence sure points that way," Gemini said, shaking her head in confusion.

"He'll be waiting for us to attack. The most obvious way into the labs is through the front entrance. That's on the other side of the cliff from here, away from the shore. I expect he'll be waiting for us to try and force our way in there. He's probably expecting Pyro and Wolverine to be with us, leading the assault. With luck he might be so busy watching out for them that he won't spot us."

"And there's another way in, right?" said Gemini.

"Yes. The disused ventilation shaft I mentioned earlier should be around here somewhere," Helios said. "The only problem is the opening is halfway up the cliff face. It looks pretty sheer and it won't be easy to climb. I hope nobody has a fear of heights."

Vertigo agreed, "We can't go in the front entrance. Fighting our way through would be too risky. With luck, Magneto might not even know about this vent shaft. It looks like it hasn't been used for years. It seems like our safest and stealthiest route in. Any questions?"

"What if he does know about the vent?" Cassandra asked. "What if he's waiting for us on the other end of it?"

"We just have to hope he isn't. There is no safe way to get in here, but this looks like our best option. If he's waiting for us…well…I guess we'll just have to make the best we can out of it."

One or two of them exchanged worried glances.

"Hey, at the end of the day, it _is_ just him," Vertigo said. "What I mean is, there aren't any other mutants working for him. Right? The sub-creatures won't cause us any problems. With six of us, we _might_ stand a chance against him. OK?"

There were no other complaints.

"Right," said Vertigo. "Here's how we're going to do this. There's rock-climbing equipment in one of the crates: pitons, ropes, that kind of thing. We'll use those to climb up."

"Um," Gemini said uncomfortably. "I'm not afraid of heights, but I have, like, zero experience of this. I don't know how to use any of this equipment."

"M – me either," Aqua admitted.

"Don't worry," said Atlas. "I have plenty of experience rock-climbing. I'll go up first, secure some ropes and then throw them down to you. All you have to do is climb the ropes, and brace yourselves on the rock face."

"Is it safe?" Gemini asked doubtfully.

"No less safe than anything else we'll do here," said Vertigo. "Come on, let's move. I'll climb just below you in case you slip."

"So you can look at my ass, you mean," she snapped. "Forget it. You're going ahead of me."

"I'm thinking of your safety here."

"No, you're just wishing I was wearing a skirt so you could look at my panties all the way up."

Cassandra intervened, "_I'll_ go last. If anyone above me is about to slip or fall, I'll foresee it, and I can help them out."

Everyone agreed on that, so Atlas and Vertigo hurried to get the climbing equipment out of the helicopter. Attaching a number of metallic spikes to his belt, Atlas coiled a length of rope around his waist, and began climbing the rock face. He made it look so easy, but the five standing below knew it would not be so. The more sensible among them watched closely as he climbed, trying to memorise the hand-holds and foot-holds he used so that they might use the same ones. Every so often he stopped at the more difficult parts and jammed one of the metal pitons into the rock face, to create an artificial hold. He was steadily approaching the ventilation opening, and the teenagers on the ground were preparing for their own turn.

"I'll go first," said Vertigo. "I'm light, so if I fall I won't knock anyone else off."

Atlas was calling down to them:

"There's a ledge just below the ventilation duct! There's enough room for all of us to stand up here! It looks as if the duct has a cover over it so we're going to have to get that off somehow! I'm throwing the rope down now!"

He jammed another piton into the rock, and tied one end of the rope firmly around it. Uncoiling the rest of the rope from his waist, he threw it down the rock face to the others. Vertigo caught it, and gave it a few sharp tugs to make sure it would support his weight. It seemed secure, so he braced himself against the rock and began to climb the rope.

"Aqua, you go next," said Gemini.

Marina swallowed her uncertainties and pushed them out of her mind. There was no time to be nervous. She just had to do this. There was no other way. She gripped the rope with both hands, and pulled herself up off the ground, keeping her feet firmly pressed against the rock wall. Once she felt it was safe, she began to ascend slowly. She was of average height for her age but relatively light, and her arms were strong enough for the climb. As her confidence began to grow, she began to move faster.

Dominic went next, still determined to watch over Marina and protect her while Gary wasn't around. Other than Atlas he was the only one with any climbing experience, and his journey up the rock face was relatively comfortable. He stayed close below Marina in case he had to help her out, but she seemed to be having no problems. In fact, she seemed to be enjoying the experience.

Once all of the guys were ahead of her, Gemini at last felt comfortable climbing the rope. She had no fear of the climb itself – she was small for her age, and thus had excellent balance and agility – instead she simply feared being in a position where her body was open to male scrutiny. She _hated_ being ogled and stared at. She hated having to check that her panties weren't showing or whatever, instead of just being able to sit in the position that was most comfortable. _I won't wear skirts any more_, she decided, _then__ I can sit however I like_. _But I shouldn't **have** to do that! I like wearing skirts; they're comfortable. I shouldn't have to change my clothes just because guys are so stupid and dirty and keep staring at me! Why can't they treat me with any respect? _

"Hey, are you going or what?" Cassandra distracted her.

Gemini put her thoughts aside and quickly began climbing up the cliff, holding the rope tightly and moving as quickly as she could. Once there was enough room at the bottom, Cassandra took hold of the end of the rope and began to follow the rest. She hadn't had any fore-flashes, so she assumed nobody was in any danger. Of course, that was no guarantee. She still couldn't be sure exactly what triggered the fore-flashes. Was it simply when she herself was in danger? Did it include anybody else who was nearby? Did it only include people she cared about, whose death would upset her? She had never once been in a situation where she'd had a fore-flash and hadn't acted upon it. It had always been something that had kept her safe or kept her friends safe. She wasn't entirely confident if she could rely on these flashes as a completely reliable guide, as she had no guarantee that they would _always_ warn her of impending danger. She had no idea how they worked at all. Did they work when she was asleep, for example? If someone was about to attack her sleeping body, would she receive a fore-flash in the middle of her dream? Would it spontaneously wake her so she could avoid the danger? She didn't know. She would have to find out some day. The trouble was, the only way she would discover these things was during periods of mortal danger, and that wasn't a situation she wanted to be in, especially if her dream came true and she became a mother some day.

She was the last to reach the top, and Helios and Gemini reached down to help her stand on the ledge with the rest of them. They looked over to see Vertigo and Atlas struggling with the cover over the entrance to the vent shaft. It was metal and appeared to have rusted long ago. There were small slats in its surface, but they were far too small for even Gemini to squeeze through.

"We're going to have to get this off," Atlas panted, wiping sweat from his brow.

The sun was at its highest now, and each of them was already hot enough from the climb. The three guys grappled with the cover, trying to force it out, trying to find a weak spot, but it wouldn't budge even an inch.

"Atlas, can't you dislodge the rocks around the sides, then it'll just fall out?" Cassandra suggested.

"I could, but that would just destabilise the shaft inside. The whole thing might collapse."

Helios glanced up at the sun, "Here, I've got an idea. Move aside, you guys."

Vertigo and Atlas got out of his way, as he pulled off one of his glove. Raising one hand up to the sun, he tilted his palm until the sunlight was reflecting directly on to the cover. He curved his palm inwards, and the ray of light intensified into a laser. They heard a crackling sound as it began to eat into the metal cover.

"Good thinking," Gemini enthused.

"Boy, I need a drink," said Atlas.

Aqua passed him one of the emergency water pouches she was carrying on her belt. They had brought limited water supplies with them as a precaution, as they had no idea how long their mission might take. Aqua was the obvious choice to carry them, since her power helped her bear the load somewhat. Atlas took a quick gulp, then handed it back to her. In this heat, they knew any amount of exertion would cause them to sweat and lose a great deal of water. Dehydration was not something they wanted to suffer from when they might run into Magneto at any moment. Marina herself was immune to its effects, but she had to make sure the others did not lose too much vital fluid.

Helios finished the circle he had been tracing around the edge of the cover, and Vertigo gave it a kick. The laser had burned all the way around, and the cover was easily knocked out of place. A _clang_ as it landed inside told them that there was a drop, but not a huge one, awaiting them. Vertigo took a quick swig of water, then said, "OK, Gemini, send your twin inside to make sure it's safe."

Gemini nodded, her body tensed and her muscles tightened as she created a duplicate. Gasping with pain, she stumbled, and Cassandra grabbed her before she could go flying over the edge. The newly formed twin moved towards the opening and climbed inside. Gemini steadied herself and smiled at Cassie.

"What's inside?" Vertigo asked.

"It's dark; I can't see much. The shaft descends for a few feet away from me, then flattens out a bit. After that I can't see anything."

"Does the rock look stable? Is there any water dripping through?" said Atlas.

"Uh – I don't think so."

"All right, I'll take a look."

The earth mutant entered the opening, and jumped down the few feet to where Gemini's twin was standing. He glanced at the twin, "Can you actually talk? Or do I have to shout up to Gemini?"

"Atlas, I _am_ Gemini," she said, startling him. "We both are."

"OK…well, I'm going to take a look down the tunnel. If it's safe, tell the rest to come down."

"Right."

As she had described, the vent shaft narrowed considerably and became a tunnel which headed downwards at an angle. Atlas ducked down to squeeze inside. It was a tight fit, but he was not uncomfortable. Normally quite agitated and nervous, when surrounded by rock he was – quite literally – in his element. He did not feel claustrophobic as most people would do in this situation, imagining the horrors of the tunnel collapsing and being trapped in the rock. Atlas did not fear that. The rocks would obey his command and free him if that happened. He crawled forwards a few feet, until the tunnel levelled out as Gemini had described. Ahead it turned a corner, but what little light was getting in, was not bright enough to illuminate any further. He crawled back to the twin.

"It looks safe," he said. "It's too dark to see all that far. Tell the others to come down."

Within a few minutes, there were six of them standing in the tiny cavern just inside the vent shaft. Gemini had 'deactivated' her twin. This was not something she had actually done very often; usually her twin 'died' while saving her life. When she wanted to absorb the duplicate back into herself, she could touch it and then simply concentrate on 'pulling herself in', rather than the 'pushing herself out' sensation she felt when creating a twin.

"All right," said Atlas. "Here's how we're going to do this. I'll go first. Helios, you'll need to come behind me to light the way. Cassandra, I want you at the middle so you're near enough to help anyone who's about to be in any danger. Other than that, order doesn't really matter."

"I'm not having anybody male behind me," Gemini snapped. "Or right in front of me either, trying to look back at my chest."

"It'll be too dark for anybody to be looking at anyone else," Atlas assured her.

He ducked down into the crawlspace, and began to move into the tunnel. Dominic pulled off his other glove, and instantly a powerful beam of light shot from his palm to illuminate the whole chamber.

"Hey, I thought you could only reflect light," said Gemini.

"No. One hand reflects. The other hand absorbs it and stores it for later use."

"In other words, he's a glorified light-bulb," said Vertigo, then gestured to the tunnel. "On you go, enlightening one."

Helios dropped to his hands and knees, and followed Atlas into the tunnel. Cassandra went next, then Gemini and Aqua. Vertigo brought up the rear. Atlas was already moving quickly up ahead. Helios had the broadest shoulders and the heaviest form, which meant getting through the tunnel was a little more of a struggle for him. The girls had no problems, and Vertigo was lithe and flexible enough to contort himself through almost any gap. They crawled for several minutes, each following the shape of the person in front, while Atlas led them through the winding, twisting natural tunnel.

"I can't see shit," Gemini complained eventually.

"You don't _need_ to; there's only one way we can go," Aqua told her softly.

"I know, but – oh, I just hate this."

"You're c – c – claus – "

"Claustrophobic? You bet I am. Being locked in a tiny room for two years will do that to you. Any time I'm in an enclosed space, it all comes back to me."

She gasped, and Aqua could hear her sobbing and moaning.

"I wanna get out of here! Please, I have to get out of here!" Gemini howled.

"Shut up!" Vertigo snapped. "We can't afford to panic! If one of you starts blubbing, the rest will do the same!"

"_Fuck you_," she spat. "You have no idea what I'm going through here. Aqua, kick him for me."

"Anybody else feel that?" said Atlas suddenly. "That was an air draught, I'm sure it was. We must be getting close to an opening."

The sense of relief in the group was evident. Gemini calmed and moved onward as fast as she could, determined to escape this living hell and get to somewhere where she could move about freely. Atlas bit his lip as he led the way. He'd lied to them. There hadn't been any air draught. He didn't expect the tunnel to lead them into the labs' vent system for a while yet. Still, he had to say something to keep the others calm. They'd figure out soon enough that he'd lied – he'd claim it was a mistake – but for now, the panic was averted.

It was only a few minutes later that they hit the next problem. The tunnel stopped abruptly ahead, with a darkened pool of water in the floor, shimmering in Helios' light.

"What is it? Why have we stopped?" Gemini demanded from further back.

"The tunnel ends," Helios said.

"_What_!" she screamed. "You mean we came all the way through here for nothing!"

"Um, maybe. I don't know. There's a pool of water just here. "

"It must have been formed by rain water gradually seeping through the rock over the years," said Atlas. "Eventually this part of the tunnel must have gotten flooded. That must be why they stopped using it as a ventilation shaft."

Vertigo spoke from the back, "Aqua, dive down and see where it leads."

"Y – you got it."

Aqua moved forward, squeezing tightly past Gemini and Cassandra.

"Sorry," she muttered to both of them as she forced her way past.

"Don't apologise to me, whore," Cassandra growled.

Aqua found herself in a tiny cavern where Helios and Atlas were both crouched beside a small pool of water. Crawling forwards, she slid gracefully into the water, and swam downwards, kicking with her legs, feeling the way with her hands. The watery tunnel led further downwards, then it levelled out and abruptly began to angle back up the way. Aqua breathed easily under the water, her gills extracting the oxygen and feeding it to her second set of lungs, her aqualungs. Breathing underwater was now so natural that she didn't even have to think to do it. It was like breathing in air for a normal person; the body handled it automatically. The submerged passage continued to rise upwards, and she swam that way, sensing that the surface was close. Her head broke through the water, and her gills automatically closed as her nose and throat took over breathing. She reached for her communicator.

"H – Helios?" she spoke into it. "I'm through. It isn't far; you can probably make it if you hold your breath."

Silence.

"Helios?"

Nothing. Of course. The signal wouldn't be able to get anywhere in the midst of all this rock. She'd have to go back and tell the others. Well, she needed no encouraging to get back into the water. Sliding into the pool head-first, she dived down until she reached the U-shaped bend at the bottom, then moved back up to where they were waiting. Emerging from the water, she was immediately dazzled by Helios' light shining in her face.

"Shit, sorry," he muttered, directing his palm away from her.

"Is it deep?" said Atlas.

Aqua shook her head, "No, it's – it's not too bad. You can probably all make it. If not, I can – I can help you out."

Vertigo had pushed his way to the front, "OK, who's the best swimmer here apart from Aqua?"

"Probably me," said Gemini.

"Right, see if you can do it. Aqua, go with her, guide her, breathe for her if you have to."

"I can do it myself!"

"Well, go on then."

Gemini eagerly slid into the water, and dived downwards. Elated beyond belief at dropping out of the claustrophobic hell above into the free-moving heaven below, her heart gave a giddy lurch and she swam quickly through the tunnel. Aqua was already below her – _man, she can swim fast – _and she guided Gemini through the bend. Once through the U-shape, the duplicator headed straight upwards until her head broke surface. She gulped at the air, and turned, beaming, to face Aqua.

"I _love_ swimming!" she giggled. "I wish I had your powers! Go back and tell them it's easy!"

She climbed out of the pool while Aqua went back to the others. Vertigo and Helios swam through without her help, their powerful limbs cutting through the water easily. Atlas was a little less certain, but she guided him most of the way until he had the confidence to swim to the top himself. That left only Cassandra. Aqua was in two minds over whether she wanted to swim back for her at all, but it would be stupid and childish not to. When she got there, the foreseer was crouching beside the pool. She didn't look at all happy. She was holding on to a waterproof flare that Helios must have given her from one of the many pockets in his uniform. Its green illumination provided a somewhat ghostly light. Aqua moved over to help her.

"I don't need your help, whore!" Cassandra snapped. "You'd probably just try to drown me, anyway!"

Aqua shook her head, "Can't we – can't we just forget we hate each other for five minutes until this is over? This is – this is important. We're on a mission."

"Look, you stupid whore, you destroyed my life! I don't think you realise what you've done to me! Forgive me if I'm not quite ready to – "

In a split second her expression had changed to one of horror, "Shit, look out!"

She dived from the side of the pool to knock the startled swimmer into the water. At that moment a gigantic rock suddenly detached from the tunnel roof and landed in the water just where Aqua's head had been. Another rock followed, and another, narrowly avoiding the terrified girls.

"The tunnel roof is collapsing!" Cassandra screamed.

Mere seconds later, a torrent of rocks began falling from the ceiling and down towards them. Aqua grabbed Cassandra and immediately dived down below the surface, pulling the screaming foreseer down as deep as she could. The rocks cascaded down with them, their heavy mass sinking into the water and threatening to pound the two girls into pulp. Aqua twisted out of the way to avoid one falling boulder, and in doing so she lost her bearings. She no longer knew which way would lead them to safety, where the others were waiting. Beside her she felt Cassandra writhing desperately, her body practically convulsing, and Aqua looked at her. In the ghostly green light of the flare, she suddenly realised the other girl had no air left in her lungs and was beginning to hyperventilate. Without even thinking about what she was doing, Aqua put her lips on those of her worst enemy, and breathed into Cassandra's throat. Relief flooded through the foreseer and she instinctively clutched at the girl she hated most in the entire world. Two more transferred breaths, and she had calmed down. The rock cascade had finally subsided, and they hung in the water, Aqua keeping them at constant depth by treading water.

The flare flickered and died, throwing the two girls into pitch darkness. They had no idea where they were in relation to the U-shaped bend, they could not talk, they could not see each other to perform sign language, and only one of them could breathe independently. What Aqua wanted to do was breathe deeply into Cassandra's lungs, to give her enough air to survive for a minute or so, while Aqua explored their immediate surroundings. But how could she communicate that idea? How could she convince Cassandra to let go of her, when Aqua was the only thing keeping her alive?

_The life of my worst enemy is quite literally in my hands. She's treated me like dirt for I can't remember how long now, and I've never done anything to her. Why should I care about her? I can just push her away from me, problem solved. I can easily find my way back to the others while she drowns._

_No, I can't do that._

_Why not?_

_I can't kill somebody!_

_That's right. I can't do that._

_And besides, she saved my life._

_The rock…_

_Yes, the rock. It would have crushed me if she hadn't pushed me out of the way._

_She saved my life. Now I have to save hers._

_Yes. But how?_

Aqua closed her eyes and concentrated hard, pushing out with her water senses. Maybe she could detect the shape of the surrounding rock from the water. Yes…the U-bend was further down. She knew which way to go now. The only question was: could she swim that way, while guiding and breathing for Cassandra? She exhaled into the other girl's mouth once more, and put her arm tightly around Cassandra's waist. Then with her other hand and her legs she began to manoeuvre the two of them down the way. Two more stops to breathe, and they were at the bend. The passage upwards was easier. Cassandra knew the drill now, and was helping with the swimming by kicking her legs as best she could. Aqua guessed she had little or no experience swimming, perhaps was even scared of being in the water. They breathed once more. Cassandra put her arm around Aqua to ensure they wouldn't drift apart.

Above them they could see light – Helios – and they struck out for the surface. Cassandra was giddy, incredulous, amazed she was still alive. Her secret fear of water that she had never told anyone, that she had kept hidden for so many years…oh, swimming in the pool at the school was no problem. It wasn't deep enough to be dangerous. But this, swimming in pitch darkness below the surface, unable to breathe, had been truly terrifying. For several seconds, as her breath expired, she had simply been preparing to die, preparing to face God. That Aqua had actually saved her life was too much to comprehend. She could see the surface now, as the two of them shot upwards.

As her head broke surface, Cassandra gasped hungrily at the tunnel air, relief melting away her tension and she was only vaguely aware of hands reaching for her and pulling her out of the water. She lay there, on the tunnel floor, gasping and recovering, while Aqua calmly climbed out of the pool. There was a small cavern of sorts around the pool, and a dark opening in the rock wall that led further into the tunnel. The other teenagers were crouched beside it, ready to crawl inside.

"Are you guys OK?" Gemini asked.

Cassie nodded, speaking between breaths, "Yeah – yeah, we're OK. The tunnel – has collapsed. There's no – no way back…"

"All right. Let's move on," said Vertigo. "We've no time to waste."

The rest of the group moved off, unaware of the terrifying, life-changing experience the two mortal enemies had just shared. Cassandra would have been astonished to learn that the entire ordeal had taken only a few minutes. To her it had felt like several hours, days, lifetimes. She had come closer to dying before, but never before had she been so totally powerless to prevent it, so completely dependent on another person, a person who hated her, to keep her alive.

"Aqua?" she said.

The water girl was crawling after the others into the tunnel, and she stopped and turned when she heard her name. The two of them sat and looked at each other. Neither could speak. There was so much they wanted to say – you saved my life, thank you, etc – but neither of them could find the words to begin. The others were already moving off ahead, and there was no time to waste. Cassandra leaned over. Aqua began to back away, uncertain, perhaps expecting a slap. But that was not the foreseer's intention. She gently touched Aqua's arm, leaned forward, and kissed her. Just once, lightly, on the cheek.

"We'll talk later," she said quickly, then ducked down to enter the passageway.

_I'll probably regret doing that_, she thought, _but it felt right at the time. How else can you say a hundred words in a single action?_

Marina touched her cheek where the kiss had come, and pushed away her own thoughts on the matter. It could wait. They would talk later. The kiss was a promise of that. Right now was not the time. There was far too much else to worry about. She began crawling after the rest.


	22. Chapter Twenty One: Knowing Your Enemy

The passage was climbing again, and this time Atlas really could feel an air draught. The others behind him were quiet now, probably having gotten used to the enclosed surroundings. Atlas was worrying about whether Magneto knew they were here. The psychic attack on Cassandra told them that Magneto was obviously aware of their approach, but whether or not he could pinpoint their exact location…was he aware of the existence of this old vent shaft? Had it been abandoned from use before he had moved his base of operations into the ocean labs? It was of course still only an assumption that he _was_ based here, but everything seemed to point that way. The Navy admiral who was part of the conspiracy was presumably the one in overall command of the ocean lab facility, and he must have given it over to Magneto.

Atlas was worried that there might be a reception committee waiting for them at the other end of the tunnel. He had no fear of humans, but if Magneto himself was there…would he actually try to kill them? Aqua had said he'd tried to kill _her_, but then she was one of the X-Men. Atlas and his friends were Brothers (and Sisters). Surely Magneto wouldn't try to kill _them_. But then, he must have been the one ultimately responsible for the attack on the school. The attackers had certainly intended to kill. Had Magneto told them to do that? Had they misinterpreted or disobeyed his orders?

Vertigo was having similar thoughts: _What happens if we climb out of this tunnel and Magneto's standing right there, ready for us? Do we attack him? I guess the most sensible thing is to wait and see what he does first. But, of course, if we do that it could already be too late. If he really **does** want to kill us…but **why**? It doesn't make any sense!_

Gemini couldn't understand it either. Her claustrophobia had finally begun to subside as she grew more accustomed to the rock around her. Her brain had finally managed to convince her that she was in no danger. If anything were about to happen, like the tunnel collapsing, then Cassie would foresee it, and Atlas would use his power to protect her. Her very worst fear of being forever entombed was not going to happen. She was keeping her mind off her fear by puzzling over Magneto: _How can he still be alive? Dad and Mystique both told me he was dead! And they were both **there**, so they ought to know. Unless they lied…but Dad wouldn't lie to me, and he's as confused about this as we all are. Did Mystique lie? She sought out me and Dad specifically to tell us Magneto was dead. Why would she lie about that? Why would she bother telling us if it wasn't true? Was she trying to mislead us, to make us look someplace else? Why would she do that to us? I don't believe she would do that to me. When I was on the island, when I first arrived there and I was really scared and I couldn't even walk or talk, she was always kind to me. She gave me clothes, and books and toys, stuff she must have gotten specially for me, since it would hardly have just been lying around._

_Why did any of them care for me if it was all a lie? Magneto told Dad where to find me, I know that now. Mystique cared for me and, well, I guess she must have loved me to go to the trouble she did for me. Why would they do any of that if they didn't really believe in protecting mutants? What they're doing now, this conspiracy, it totally goes against **everything** they ever taught me! I don't get it! The Magneto and Mystique I knew back then can't be the same people we're dealing with now. They must have changed. Something must have changed them. I had that crazy idea earlier…yeah, what if Xavier screwed with their minds and changed them? From what Dad told me, that sounds like the kind of thing he'd do. That must be what it is. This is all Xavier's fault! He knew he was dying but he couldn't take losing, so he cheated! He messed up their minds and made them do stuff they never would have done of their own free will!_

She was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't notice Helios had stopped in front of her, and almost ploughed into the back of him.

"What's happening?" she said.

"We've reached the end," said Atlas. "There's another cover here, blocking our way. On the other side is a room, looks like it used to hold the old ventilation system. It's empty now, but it should give us access to the rest of the facility."

"Helios, you're up," Vertigo said.

His hand still emitting stored solar energy, Helios crawled to the front and crouched beside the other two guys. Gemini took the opportunity to move forward so she could watch. She always liked to watch the others using their powers. It reminded her that she was among mutants, among friends, who had gifts that set them above ordinary humans._ We're superior beings, a further stage of evolution. Humans can't accept it, they think **they're** the superior species. They think we're just an aberration, one of evolution's mistakes. Humans are, like, **so** stupid, why can't they see the truth?_

_Then again…if it were the other way around…would I see it? Would I accept it?_

Helios' laser was cutting into the cover, and they waited for him to finish. With the exception of Atlas, all of them were relieved at the prospect of escaping from the tunnel. Gemini was claustrophobic even in less tight environments; Helios had been horribly cramped; Aqua and Cassandra had just escaped a near-death experience. It would take quite a lot of incentive for any of them to crawl through a tunnel like that again.

As the laser completed its circle, and Vertigo kicked the cover loose, their next problem became evident. The opening was still several feet off the floor in the room below. Glancing down, the boys could see that the floor was concrete, and definitely too far down to jump. The only thing in the room was an old, rusting piece of machinery. They guessed it had been part of the old ventilation system, back when this shaft was in use.

"Can we jump on to that?" asked Gemini.

Cassie shook her head, "It's too far away."

"How are we gonna do this?" Helios demanded.

Atlas frowned, "I might be able to dislodge some rocks and drop them down there, to lessen the distance we have to drop, but it'd be risky…"

"Stand aside," Vertigo told them. "You've all had your moment; this is mine."

Gripping the edges of the opening tightly, he edged out until he was crouched, catlike, on the very rim of the gap.

"Wait a minute, what are you doing?" Gemini said. "You're going to jump? You'll kill yourself!"

He glanced at her, "I'm surprised you care. I thought you hated me."

"I do hate you, but that doesn't mean I want to see you _dead_. What are you trying to do?"

"Just watch."

At that instant he sprang, his body uncoiling like a spring and twisting around in mid-air. For a moment it looked as if he was about to fall to his death, and Gemini was already clutching Atlas in horror, but at the last minute Vertigo grabbed the edge of the machine, and hung there as he regained his bearings. It was an incredible jump, something that even the best human gymnast in the world couldn't have equalled. Despite her immense dislike of the young man, Gemini found herself applauding and sagging with relief that he had made it. Of course, their problems weren't over yet. It would be easy enough to climb down the machine to the floor…but somehow the others had to get over there as well.

Then they saw what Vertigo must have spotted. There was a maintenance ladder attached to the side of the machine. It too was old and rusty, and he was in the process of tearing it free from its holdings. The others watched until he had it loose. From there he carried it across the floor until he was standing underneath the opening to the vent shaft. The others looked down at him.

"It's not long enough," Gemini pointed out, as if the others were too stupid to notice. "It's not going to reach up here."

"Relax," said Atlas.

He still had one or two short ropes coiled around his waist, that they hadn't needed during their ascension of the cliff face. Using the rope and ladder, the rest of them were able to climb down and join Vertigo. The six of them sat at the base of the wall for a few minutes to get their breath back and prepare for the next stage of the intrusion.

Helios reached into a pocket of his uniform, and pulled out the plans of the facility. Aqua had used Shapeshifter's computer to hack into US Navy files and download them. They couldn't be sure how up-to-date the schematics were. Magneto might well have installed some new features. They would have to be ready for anything.

"OK," Vertigo was saying. "The computer complex is quite close by, right here. Aqua, that's your job."

"I'll go with her," said Helios, _it's my job to protect her._

_Good,_ Vertigo thought cynically, _put both of the X-Men together. If Magneto only wants to kill X-Men, he'll leave the rest of us alone._

"Right," he said. "The main docks are down this way, and likely to be under the heaviest guard. Atlas, what say you and me go down that way and try to find this submarine they're supposed to building? It seems pretty crucial to Magneto's plans. We have to find out what he wants to use it for, as well as what sort of weapon capabilities it has, that kind of thing."

"Sounds good."

"Gemini, Cassie, you two will head for their main research labs and look for clues, anything that tells you more about his plans. I don't expect that area will be as heavily protected, but keep your eyes open. If you find he's holding the X-Men there…well, I hate to say it, but we could sure use their help right now. Get them out if you can."

"If he hasn't already started using his mind control on them," Cassandra said. "What if he tries to attack the rest of you with his psychic powers? Only Gemini can defend herself from them."

"I guess there isn't anything we can do about that. We'll just have to try and be lucky. OK, everybody ready? Let's go."

Gemini smiled at the group, "Well, good luck, all of you. Come on, Cassie."

They split up into pairs, and headed off in three different directions. This section of the base appeared to be have been abandoned for some time, presumably since they had moved the ventilation system to wherever it was now. As far as the six young mutants knew, they had managed to infiltrate the facility without the knowledge of anybody, most importantly Magneto. They hoped it would stay that way. Perhaps he did not see them as that big a threat. Perhaps he was keeping most of his concentration on the adults who were left: Wolverine, Pyro, Gaia and Oculus, wherever he was. Perhaps he was underestimating them. Perhaps he did not think children, or teenagers, were capable of doing anything serious against him. Whatever, they just had to hurry and do whatever they could.

The two youngest X-Men, Aqua and Helios, were running through the darkened corridors towards their destination. They knew they'd come to an occupied part of the complex before long. At that point speed would have to give way to stealth. The most important thing was that nobody detect them before they had done what they came here to do: get any information they could about what was going on. Helios knew he was no good with computers. His task would be to keep watch and forestall any threats while Aqua did the fact-finding on the computers. He knew she wasn't as good as Shapeshifter, but hopefully she would be good enough.

Aqua's passion was growing. She was getting closer and closer to the heart of this whole business, closer to finding out exactly what it was that her family had died for. Her brother – poor, honest Jason who had done nothing to deserve his death – had found evidence of Admiral McKenzie's part in this conspiracy. That had spelt out a death sentence for Aqua's entire family, herself included. That she had eluded death twice – three times – at Magneto's hands, made her even more determined to get to the heart of this and bring the metal-mastering bastard down. Initially she'd blamed McKenzie, and he was certainly far from blameless, but ultimately it was Magneto who was pulling the strings, who would have given the order to terminate her loved ones. Aqua was going to find out what it was he loved, whatever it was he was doing all this to achieve, and then take it away from him. She was going to destroy his plans and dreams and everything he was working towards. She would take his everything, as he had taken hers.

They reached the computer labs without running into anybody, which Helios took as a good sign. Presumably Magneto had no idea they were here. The computer room required a pass-code to be entered into a number pad beside the door. It was the work of a few moments for Helios to burn through the electronic lock with the last of the solar energy stored in his hand. Then the light beam flickered and died.

"You're – you're out?" she asked.

He nodded, "I used up all my solar power acting as a torch back there in the tunnel. I'm going to have find another light source and recharge."

"Then I'll g – get to work on the c – computers."

They entered the lab, and she headed straight for one of the machines. Intrigued, Helios watched her progress. Initially she was greeted with a login screen, requiring a username and password, but it took mere minutes for her to work out a combination which allowed access. Helios forced himself to concentrate on standing guard at the door, watching out to see if anyone should approach. Aqua typed fast, and the sound of her fingers on the keyboard was the only thing that broke through the silence.

"Getting anywhere?" he asked eventually.

She shook her head, "N – no. The files are all protected by encryption. Even though I've – I've logged in as a user, I still have to d – decrypt anything to look at it. These guys are taking no chances."

He walked over to look over her shoulder, at a computer screen full of icons and windows and text that meant nothing to him. Helios could beat just about anyone at multi-player computer gaming, but when it came to 'real computing', he was all at sea.

"You can break the decryption, yeah?" he said.

"Well…no. This is real expert stuff, done by a – a master security pro. It – it looks like the same person who e –encrypted the files I stole from McKenzie's computer as well."

"How long will it take you to get in?"

"You don't seem to be h – hearing me. Try never. I'm – I'm way out of my depth."

"OK…so what do we do?"

She shrugged, "Find Shapeshifter, I suppose."

The sound of the door opening startled both of them. Glancing up in shock, they stared back into the eyes of the equally startled man in the doorway. Chubby, dark-haired and carrying a pizza box and six-pack of beer, he got as far as saying, "Who are – " before Aqua sprang across the room, tackling him to the floor and holding him there, her knee in his throat, constricting his windpipe, preventing him from talking. He could breathe, but that was all. She was a fourteen year old girl and thus should not have proved a match for a grown man in terms of strength, but his struggles to move her yielded nothing.

"Do you know the decryption key for the files on these machines?" she snapped, speaking quickly and without her stammer.

He nodded frantically, desperate to get her off his throat so he could breathe easily.

"Tell me the key," she said. "Yell for help and I'll snap your neck."

Releasing the pressure on his throat, she waited for a response. He coughed and choked for a moment, getting his voice back, then words spilled out, "Take the name 'John von Neumann', convert it into ASCII, then into binary. That's the decryption key. Who the hell _are_ you?"

"If you keep quiet, I'm the woman who's about to let you live," she turned to Helios. "Hold him while I try the key."

"Gotcha," said the solar mutant. "Say, who's John von Neumann?"

"He invented computers."

As she stood and stepped away from the men, Helios moved over to grab him and keep him still and silent. Aqua finally got a good look at his face, and she recognised him right away.

"He's from the photograph," she said. "One of Mag – Magneto's friends."

"One of the two we couldn't identify?" Helios answered, taking a closer look at the guy. "You're right. All right, mate. Who are you? Why are you working for Magneto? What he's trying to do?"

"My name's William Hoogstrate," the man said quickly – fear was still making him act co-operative. "I don't know anyone called Magneto, what's one of those?"

"I think you know who I'm talking about," Helios snapped. "Your boss, whatever you call him. The big cheese, the head honcho, the Number One…"

At this last, the man stiffened slightly, but said nothing. Helios ignored him. If Aqua couldn't find anything on computers, they could try forcing more information out of the guy.

"How's it going?" he asked of the girl.

"I'm in," she told him.

"Find anything?"

"I'm not sure. It looks as if they're working on some project. It's called Project Eternity, but it doesn't say why. It's a combination of the efforts of all twelve of them, including Magneto. I can't find any specific details, but I'll keep looking…"

"Mar – um – Aqua?"

"Yeah?"  
"You're not stammering any more. In fact…you sound totally different."

"Of course I do. I'm about to find out why Magneto ordered my family killed. Of course I feel different. I'm not a helpless victim any more."

She returned to typing, and Dominic looked back at the struggling man he still held pinned to the floor, "OK, so what's your role? What part are you playing in this Project Eternity?"

William Hoogstrate licked his lips nervously, "I, uh, I don't know what you're talking about. I just work here, at the ocean labs. I'm a computer technician."

Could that be true? Maybe he really didn't know anything about Magneto or this project. Maybe he really was just a random guy who worked here. Wait a minute. No…of course not. He was in the photograph. He was one of the twelve.

"That's lie number one," said Helios. "Let's try not to make it any more than that. Try again."

The computer expert sighed, "All right, so Mr Lehnsherr hired me to do some computer work for him. Security, mostly. I keep any sensitive data from being stumbled upon by hackers or police or the feds. Mr Lehnsherr demands absolute secrecy for this whole project."

"What's he paying you? What's he promised you?"

"Nothing! He pays me ordinary US dollars. Really, I don't know what you're talking about."

"What about the others? Al Sayed and Worcester and Smith and the other billionaires? What's he offering them?"

"I don't know who you're talking about…I've never heard of them…"

"That's lie number two. How could you not have heard of them? They're world famous names. And we have a photograph with you and them in it."

Hoogstrate was getting frustrated, "All right, wise ass, so I know them! That doesn't mean I know what they're being paid. I don't talk to them and they don't talk to me!"

"Come on! Try harder."

"No! I really don't know, and you're hurting me."

Helios gave up, "Aqua?"

"Hold on a second. OK. I think I'm starting to see exactly why Magneto has recruited each of these people. There are twelve of them and they're all experts in some particular field. He's using them to help him manufacture this constantium stuff. It's the key to everything. Each of the twelve has some connection to it. I'll just read them out in the order they're listed in the computer's files:

"First is Magneto himself, obviously, and we know what he's capable of…

"Second, Robert Worcester is a media tycoon. He has enough influence to be able to spread propaganda to the world, to prevent anyone from finding out what's going on here…

"Third, Ahmed Al Sayed is a Saudi oil billionaire, and he provides the group with all the funding they need…

"Fourth, Gregory Kelvin owns almost all the major shipbuilding companies in America, and handles contracts from the Navy and the Marines. He's the one who's constructing this submarine Magneto wants…

"Fifth is a guy called John Smith, another billionaire who provides all of the raw materials needed for the submarine and for the constantium project…

"Sixth, somebody we haven't heard of before. His name is Ciaran Green, and according to this he practically invented the field of picoelectronics."

Helios frowned, and interrupted her, "What's picoelectronics?"

"On the scale of miniaturisation, one level smaller than nanoelectronics."

"Oh."

"It's still not clear exactly what he's up to. Something to do with 'bioelectronic implant devices'…I think I'll find out more about that in a minute…

"Anyway, seventh is one of the women: Ellen Marshall. She's a senior White House advisor, and she's made sure that the President and the Senate also remain ignorant of what's going on…

"Eighth is – is Admiral McKenzie from the US Navy. He gave Magneto access to the labs here and stole Navy equipment and research secrets to help Magneto's projects."

Helios said, "That's what your brother uncovered, yeah? That's why Magneto went after your family?"

"I – uh – yeah. As for the rest…number nine is – or was – a member of Special Forces. His name's Philippe Devant. I think he must be the one who led the attack on the school. He survived, right?"

"Yeah."

"Tenth is Karen Auberschwift, who happens to be probably the best lawyer in all of the United States. She works as defence counsel for the others when required, and she's ready to defend their project from legal attack if anyone ever finds out about it. Clearly they're planning for the worst…"

"Eleventh is this guy right here: William Hoogstrate. He's South African. A few years ago he was one of the most dangerous and talented computer hackers in the world. He even appeared in the FBI's ten most wanted list at one point. Then Magneto recruited him. He provides all the computer security they need to keep their operations a secret…"

"Twelfth, Elena Cartëasis…as far as we know she's Gemini's mom. She's a biometallurgist who helped Magneto in his initial discovery of constantium. I think she's been working with him longer than any of the others. As I said, this constantium stuff seems to be central to everything that they're doing."

"But why?" said Helios. "What's so special about it? OK, so it's stronger than adamantium which is supposedly indestructible, but why does that mean so much to all these people?"

"I don't know yet. Ask him."

Helios tightened his grip on Hoogstrate, "Why is constantium so important?"

The computer security man sniffed, "I'm not telling you anything else. No, even if you threaten me. Mr Lehnsherr swore me to secrecy, and he scares me a lot more than you do."

"Fine," said Aqua. "Everything you know will be on the computer anyway. It'll just take me longer to find it."

"So what are you going to do with me?"

She looked at him, "You haven't screamed for help, so we'll let you live. Here, Helios, I found this in the cupboard over there."

Aqua threw over a roll of duct tape. Helios proceeded to bind the man hand and foot, and put another length over his mouth. As Shapeshifter had taught him, he searched for the pressure points in the man's neck and rendered him unconscious.

"Anything more about constantium?"

Aqua frowned, "Just a little snippet here…looks as if I was right: it _does_ block telepathy. When it's in its pure form, at least."

"Maybe that's got something to do with his plan for it…"

"Um – Helios?" said Aqua, her stammer and uncertainty returning.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think that Annie and – uh, I mean Crusader and Gladiator are – are here somewhere? I have to find them. I – I can't relax until I know they're s – safe."

"I suppose they must be here, if this is Magneto's secret headquarters."

"I – I'm struggling to concentrate on what I'm doing here, b – because I can't stop worrying about them. Do you think we could try and find them?"

"That's what Gemini and Cassie are doing, remember? They're looking for our friends. We have a job to do here. If we don't do it, the whole mission could fail."

"Yes – yes, I suppose you're right. I – I just can't stop thinking about what M – Mag – Magneto might be doing to them…he can't control their minds because they're too powerful for that. He might decide to – to just kill them…"

"Come on, we have to focus! The best way to help them is to do our job here. Keep looking on the computer."

Unhappily she turned back to the machine in front of her. Helios dragged the unconscious Hoogstrate across the room so he would not be seen from the doorway. _So this one of the twelve, _he thought, _I hope the other eleven are as easy to knock out as this one. Somehow I don't think they will be. We still have the advantage of surprise, but one mistake and that will be lost. The other ten aren't really so important. It's Magneto we have to get to and subdue. He's the driving force behind this. The others are…well, I'm not really supposed to say this…but they're only human._

"I don't believe this," Aqua's startled voice cut into his thoughts.

"What?"

"The Apocalypse Project."

"The Apocalypse Project?" he walked over to her, "You mean the genetic engineering that produced the Horsemen? Van Gaarde created them as a sort of special security force, didn't he?"

"R – right, but until now we didn't know who was – who was ultimately responsible for the Apocalypse Project, and for releasing V – Van Gaarde from prison to – to work on it."

"I thought it was someone in your government."

"Not a – according to this. The Apocalypse Project was Mag – Magneto's idea. He and his eleven friends conspired to – to get Van Gaarde out of maximum security prison, so he could – so he could create the Horsemen."

"But what would Magneto want the Horsemen for?"

"I don't know. They were part of – of some experiment…I don't have all the facts here, but it – it looks as if this experiment was the p – precursor to his current project Eternity. The Apocalypse Project failed, and – and Project Eternity was s – started."

"So what do the two projects have in common? What is it that he's trying to achieve from them?"

"I don't know. Whatever it is…it's the key to everything."

"The Apocalypse Project created the Horsemen. The Eternity Project created constantium. What's the link between them? I don't see it."

"I suppose – I suppose they could both be used as weapons. But Mag – Magneto couldn't control the Horsemen…whereas he _can_ control con – constantium. Maybe that's it."

Helios frowned, "Where does Gemini fit into all this?"

"What do you – what do you mean?"

"Her mother – who's one of the twelve – gave her over to Van Gaarde, to use as part of his research for the Horsemen. Or so Vertigo told me. Anyway – if Van Gaarde was working for Magneto, then Magneto must have known what happened to Gemini. Why did he wait two whole years and then tell Pyro to rescue her?"

"Maybe he – he decided she was no use any more."

"Then why not just kill her? If he didn't care about her, which seems obvious now, why tell Pyro to rescue her?"

"You're right – it doesn't make s – sense."

"There must be an explanation…there must be something that makes it all clear. Keep looking on the computers."

She nodded and turned back to the machine in front of her.

* * *

Gemini and Cassandra were carefully making their way through the ocean base towards the research laboratories. Security seemed sparse. They weren't sure whether that was a good or a bad thing. Either Magneto didn't know they were here, or he was trying to set some kind of trap. Gemini was caught in two minds. While she wanted to avoid him so they could safely carry out their mission, she also wanted to confront him and demand an explanation for what he was doing, and why he was abandoning the principles he had once taught her. She wondered too about where Dad was and what he was doing, and why he hadn't come with them. They'd been just about to go when something had obviously come up that had distracted him. Maybe it was something to do with Gaia's husband – Oculus – they'd been busy trying to find him. While Gemini liked to think she was grown-up and independent, she was still deeply devoted to her father and was never entirely happy unless Pyro was around.

They had to duck out of sight as a pair of humans in white lab coats walked past. Cassandra wondered if they had any connection with Magneto or if they just happened to work here. Perhaps this entire complex was now under Magneto's control. Hopefully they would find out soon enough. Once the humans had disappeared, the two girls continued. They weren't exactly sure where to head for. Their two objectives were to try and find the X-Men, and to try and find anything that might tell them what Magneto was doing with the constantium. They were following signs that read **Main Research Lab**. That seemed like a good place to start.

Nobody in the base seemed to be on any kind of alert. This was strange. Surely Magneto knew they were here? He'd used his psychic powers on them earlier, so he _must_ have known. Or maybe he was just overconfident and didn't think they had any chance of getting in. Or maybe he didn't know about the redundant vent shaft they'd used, and was sitting waiting for them to attack the front entrance. The girls didn't know which, and there was no point wasting time wondering about it. They just had to take advantage of the slack security while they still could.

After following the signs for some time, eventually they reached the entrance to the main research lab. In front of the door stood a security guard, who looked bored and indifferent. Clearly he was not expecting any trouble. The girls took this as an encouraging sign. Obviously nobody knew they were here. Keeping out of sight, they spied on the guard and tried to decide how they might get past him.

"We just need to distract him," Gemini whispered. "Once he's out of the way, we can duck inside the door and he'll never even know we were here."

"I don't think it will be that easy," said Cassandra. "Look, the door has swipe-card access. We won't be able to get in unless we can get a valid ID card from somewhere."

"OK, we'll steal his. We'll knock him out when his back is turned. I'll use my twin to distract him."

"Right. Good luck."

"Wait here until he turns his back on us."

Gemini summoned her twin, fighting back the impulse to cry out from the exertion and the pain. The twin stood, and hurried towards the security guard.

He glanced up to see the teenager running towards him.

"Help me!" she cried. "He's been shot and there's blood all over; I don't think he's gonna make it! You've gotta help me!"

She grabbed him by the arm and tugged him away from the door. Normally he would have instantly floored and searched anybody who wasn't on his list of authorised personnel, but being a pretty young girl she had thrown off his normal reactions. It wasn't quite so easy to be rough with her; no man wanted to hurt a cute little thing like this…

"Hey! Wait!" he demanded. "How did you get in here? Who's been shot? I didn't hear anything!"

As the startled guard was led past their hiding place, Gemini and Cassandra slipped out and both hit the man on the back of the head. He fell without even a whisper, unconscious on the floor.

"Nice work," said Cassie.

Gemini extended her hand and touched the twin, absorbing her back into herself, the two becoming one once again. Cassandra knelt down and searched the security guard's unmoving body, eventually discovering the ID card in his inner pocket. She swiped it through the panel on the door, an LED flashed green, and the door swung open.

"We'll need to hide him," she said. "Help me drag him through."

The guy was heavy and moving him wasn't easy, but the girls' combined strength managed to tug him through the doorway, whereupon they quickly looked around for somewhere to stow him until he woke up. Hopefully that would take quite a while. Gemini gasped slightly and moved closer to her friend, "This – oh, Cassie – this reminds me of the place where I was held."

There was a small store cupboard full of cleaning materials that didn't look as if it had been accessed in a while. They stuffed the unconscious man in there, piling cleaning stuff in front of him just in case anyone did happen to open the door.

"OK," said Gemini. "Now we can get to work. Where do you think we should start looking?"

"Wherever they've been working on constantium. If they have a dedicated lab, we can check it out. If not we can look for your mom's office."

"She's not my mom!" the duplicator snapped. "The only mother I ever had was Mystique!"

"Keep your voice down or someone will hear us. Let's move."

It had only been a guess on Cassandra's part, but turning the next corner they found themselves facing a door labelled **CONSTANTIUM RESEARCH LAB. HIGH SECURITY. AUTHORISED PERSONNEL ONLY.** Beside the door was another card-swipe panel. Taking the ID card they'd stolen from the guard, Cassie swiped through. The LED flashed red and the door remained closed.

"It didn't work?" said Gemini in dismay.

"No. This guy's card won't let us in…he must not have high enough clearance."

"What do we do? Steal another card?"

"We may have to, but we'll come back here later. Let's see what else we can find."

"Hey, I've got an idea," said Gemini suddenly. "Is there any way we can contact Aqua?"

"Yeah. Gaia gave me one of their communicators. What do you want to talk to _her_ for?"

"She's hacking into the computers, right? What if she can get into the security system and open this door for us?"

Cassie shrugged, "I guess it's worth a shot, but I don't want to talk to her. Here's the communicator."

Gemini played around with it for a minute or two until she had figured out how it worked. Then she set it to call Aqua's frequency, and waited for a response:

"Uh – hello?"

"Aqua? Hi, it's Gemini. Are you at the computers yet?"

"Yeah, I – we've found out quite a lot here. How are – how are you doing?"

"Not so good. We need your help. There's a door we can't open. We've got a security pass but it doesn't have the right clearance. Can you, like, open the door for us with the computer?"

"Um…probably not d – directly. But I can p – probably change the security c – clearance assigned to the card you're carrying. Hold on."

Cassie handed the security guard's ID card to her friend.

"Right, I'm ready," said Aqua. "Give me the – the number on the card."

Gemini read it out. A minute or two passed and then Aqua said, "Are you still there? Great. I've assigned your – your card the highest security there is. It seems there are only t – twelve other cards with that level of security. Guess whose those are."

"Magneto and his friends," said Gemini. "OK, thanks Aqua. Love you."

She hung up and handed the comm. back to Cassandra. The two girls hurried back to the entrance of the constantium research lab. Gemini swiped the card and gave an cry of triumph when the LED went green and the door slowly slid open.

"We're in!" she squealed excitedly.

Proud that her idea to open the door had worked, she just wished Dad had been here to see it. She adored doing things to impress him. Nothing made the girl happier than knowing her father was proud of her. Eagerly she hurried inside the constantium lab. Cassandra was putting the communicator back inside her inner pocket. She was beginning to wish she _had_ been the one to speak to Aqua. Part of her wanted to try and repair some of the dislike between them. She knew there was no way she could ever hate the aquatic girl as much as she had before. They'd saved each other's life, and that was something that would stay with them forever. Their relationship would not be the same again. Cassandra sensed that she was deliberately avoiding talking to Aqua because another part of her didn't want to make peace with the girl who'd stolen everything from her. She pushed these thoughts aside and told herself later was the time. Quickly checking behind her to make sure nobody was around, she entered the constantium research area.

To find Alexandra and Elena Cartëasis face to face.

* * *

"I guess this explains why the security in the rest of the base is so low."

"Yeah. Looks as though something just happened here…"

Vertigo and Atlas moved forward, keeping in the shadows, drawing closer. Ahead of them a large number of security guards were clustered: big, beefy men, heavily armed and alert. Among them was a face the two boys recognised.

"That's the guy who led the attack on the school," Atlas whispered, and Vertigo nodded.

The man in question, clearly in charge of the gang of security gorillas, was saying something. As they got closer, they could make it out:

"All right, settle down, all of you! We have nothing to fear! The mutants have escaped their cells and are holding a position in the west security wing, but they are few in number and there is no other entrance to that area. We have weapons, they don't; we can call reinforcements, they can't; we can afford to wait as long as it takes, they can't. We are professionals, we are the best, so we'll move in and neutralise them."

One security man turned to mutter to another, "Bet that's the same 'we are the best' speech he gave to Team Alpha. Didn't do them much good at the mutant school."

The leader did not overhear, "Team Bravo, move out!"

The rest of the humans hurried after him as he led the way out of the briefing room and off in the opposite direction to the one Vertigo and Atlas had just come.

"Do you think he was talking about the X-Men?" asked Atlas.

"Seems likely."

"Well, shouldn't we go help them?"

"That's not our mission. The X-Men can look after themselves."

"Are you sure?"

Vertigo nodded, "Come on, we're supposed to be going to the docks to check out this submarine. We can take advantage of the fact that their security force is off chasing the X-Men."

He moved off in the direction of the docks. Atlas hesitated for a moment, looking back in the direction the humans had just gone. Were they really doing the right thing? Was Vertigo thinking straight or was he letting his dislike of the X-Men get in the way? _Aren't they our allies now? Shouldn't we help them if they're in trouble? Don't we need their help against Magneto? I'm not sure we're doing the right thing here…_

But Atlas decided to trust his friend. After all, they had all followed Atlas through the tunnel despite the fact many of them were uncomfortable with it. He should do the same now and follow Vertigo even if he didn't agree with him. He hurried after the ninja.

* * *

The guards had got sloppy, only for a matter of seconds, but it had been enough for to Shapeshifter to change into liquid and slip through the door they'd left ajar. Seconds later, just as they realised their mistake, it was already too late for them to do anything about it. Solidifying in the blink of an eye, he had spun to kick one of the guards into the wall, ducking gunfire from the other two, then melting back into a liquid. Startled for a second, the men didn't react fast enough as the liquid glided across the floor and behind them. Shapeshifter changed back to solid and chopped both of them on the neck. Stepping over their unconscious figures, he had set about opening the cells that held his friends.

"Chris!" Shock exclaimed when saw him, hurrying forward to throw her arms around him.

Relief flowed through her as she held him, glad that he wasn't hurt, that her nightmares hadn't come to pass. Drifting in and out of consciousness since being drugged, she had imagined all sorts of terrible and horrific tortures that their enemies might have inflicted on her friends.

"Chris, what's happening? Who's doing this to us?"

"I dunno. Here, keep watch while I get the others out."

"What about Marina? Where is she? Is she safe?"

"Last I knew, she was with Annie and the boy."

Fliss relaxed, "She'll be safe with them. Where are we, do you think?"

He said nothing. She guessed there was no way he could know any more than she did herself. Thinking aloud, she went on, "I don't get it. Whoever's doing this – whoever captured us – must know enough about our individual powers to have imprisoned in the way they did earlier. Yeah? I found myself attached to some kind of electrode…if I'd let go, Kurt would have been fried. It was ingenious, but it was really…well, I dunno what the word is I'm looking for…cruel?"

Shapeshifter tried the next door. It was electronically locked, but he found a swipe card on one of the unconscious guards. Shock gathered up the men's weapons, and threw them inside her cell. She could have used them to defend herself, but…well, it was an unwritten rule that mutants didn't use weapons. The only thing she wanted to do with the guns was keep them away from the guards, in case they should wake unexpectedly. She looked round as she heard Rogue's voice, "Chris!"

From the door Shapeshifter had just swiped open, came Rogue and Scott. Without his visor, Scott's eyes were screwed tight shut and he was feeling his way about, guided as best she could by Rogue.

"Where are we?" asked their leader.

"I dunno," said Chris. "Where's your visor?"

"They took it."

"And the spare?"

Rogue said, "They were coming for us, trying to drug us. I'd managed to work the visor out of Scott's shoulder compartment, but there wasn't time for him to put it on. We left it behind in the hope someone would find it."

"It seemed a vain hope," Scott shrugged. "But you can never be sure. Perhaps Annie will come after us."

"How did you manage to get us free?" said Rogue.

Chris answered, "The guards got careless, and I managed to slip out. I don't know where we are. If the rest of us are here, we can start to have a look around."

He went to try the next cell.

"Do we still think Pyro is responsible for this?" Shock frowned.

"Of course not," said Cyclops. "He would never work with humans."

"What about Magneto? Does the same reasoning apply?"

"Perhaps not. Pyro despises humans and would never associate with them, full stop. Magneto on the other hand is canny enough to use them for his own ends. In short, he'd do anything to accomplish his goal. I'm becoming more and more certain he's involved here somewhere."

"So what does he want?"

"That's what we have to find out. The first thing to do is learn where we are and assess our situation. Rogue, stay with me. Fliss, scout on ahead."

"OK."

Shock ran forward lightly, her lithe figure and small feet making no noise on the hard floor. The corridor extended forwards for several yards until ending in a T-junction. The other end was a dead-end, where Chris was still checking the cells. Felicity hurried forward to the fork. Approaching carefully, she listened out for the sound of anybody nearby. Hearing nothing, she chanced a glance out into the next passage. She looked both ways and saw nobody. To the right, the passage ended at an elevator. To the left, it went on for some distance then curved round to the right. She decided to check the elevator first, and ran over towards it.

She realised too late that the lift was already descending. As the doors slid open and the heavily armed guards swarmed out, she had just enough time to fire a lightning bolt in their direction. The men scattered, dropping to the floor and rolling back to their feet in seconds. The electric bolt harmlessly impacted on the wall, but it had given Fliss enough time to retreat. She hurried back to the fork and into the corridor where her friends were waiting. Bullets spat around her, narrowly avoiding her fleeing body, and she managed to return to the first passageway unharmed.

Chris had freed the rest by now, and the six of them looked up in surprise as she came hurtling towards them.

"More guards!" she said breathlessly. "They tried to kill me! I barely got away!"

"How many?" said Scott.

"I don't know. A dozen, two dozen, I couldn't really tell."

"All right. We'd better get ready. Storm, Iceman, Shock, I want you at the front. If you can draw them towards us, then Nightcrawler can teleport behind them and attack from that side. Shapeshifter, Rogue, stay back, at least until some of the guards are disarmed."

The others nodded, and began moving into position. It was only seconds before the guards came charging around the corner. Bullets began to rip through the air towards the seven X-Men, but a hastily created wall of ice provided a temporary shield. That gave them enough time to hurry into position. Her heart thumping, Felicity rolled over to avoid gunfire and launched a lightning bolt at the first row of soldiers. At the same moment Storm had unleashed a mini-whirlwind, which flung the men off their feet, the lightning catching one of them a glancing blow on the shoulder. It was enough to give him a serious jolt and stun him, at least for now. As the humans quickly regained their balance, Shock fired another bolt of electricity. This time she failed to hit anyone, and she knew her nervousness was throwing off her aim. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.

Rogue reacted swiftly to pull Scott out of the way of a stray bullet. _There's no way out of here,_ she thought desperately, _if we can't get rid of these guys quickly, they'll call for reinforcements, and then we'll **really** be in trouble_! She looked up to see how her friends were faring. Her husband had succeeded in trapping three of the guards inside a cocoon of ice, and they were trying vainly to chip a way out from within. The other guards had retreated slightly, clearly taken by surprise at how quickly and smoothly the X-Men had moved into action. Shock fired another lightning bolt, but most of the soldiers were now carrying small plastic riot shields, and the electric charge harmlessly smacked into one of them.

"Uh – help!" she called urgently.

Storm had been forced to leap aside to dodge incoming fire, and had lost control of the whirlwind. The guards took full advantage, surging forward as a group, two or three of them remaining back to provide covering fire. This turned out to be a mistake, as Nightcrawler suddenly teleported behind the covering force, kicking two of them to the ground before they knew what was happening. The third man almost reacted in time, but Kurt's tail grabbed his rifle out of his arms, and hit him over the head with it, knocking him out cold.

Unfortunately this did little to halt the advance of the main group. Rogue pulled Scott back as far as they could go. Shapeshifter had been staying just in front of them to provide some cover, but he had little choice of action now as he ran forward to engage the soldiers. One man wasn't fast enough to raise his plastic shield, and a lightning bolt sent him flying. Ice enveloped two more humans, and a fresh whirlwind left another group flat on their backs. The main group was, however, still advancing towards them, and the mutants were being driven further and further back. Soon they would run out of room and there would be bloodshed.

"Rogue? What's happening!"

"Scott, stay down!"

Storm screamed as she was hit in the leg, and fell to the floor. In a flash of an instant she was gone as Nightcrawler teleported to grab her away. Bewildered for a second, the humans quickly recovered their wits and began firing at the onrushing Shapeshifter. He shifted to liquid and the bullets passed harmlessly through his fluid form. Holding his body in a half-solid, half-liquid form, he wrestled two men to the floor and kicked away their weapons. Changing back to liquid, he glided away from danger before the humans could start to think clearly. Iceman was down, not moving, and Shock was standing over him, desperately trying to defend him with lightning bolts. The guards' plastic shields were proving to be an adequate defence, and she was looking more and more frantic.

"Rogue? How're we doing?"

"Bobby's been hit! He's been hit!"

"Point me in the right direction and I'll open my eyes!"

"What? No, that's way too risky!"

"It sounds like I have to! Rogue!"

But she was no longer there. Unable to stop herself, she had run forward to her husband's unmoving form, and was despairingly trying to pull Iceman to safety. She ducked as bullets flew overhead, and looked up in time to see Shock being hit over the head with a rifle butt. The electrifier was knocked out cold.

"Kurt! Where are you!" Rogue screamed.

Nightcrawler was too busy trying to protect Storm from danger. Rogue began pulling off her gloves as the men approached her, but she knew there was nothing she could do. Even if she drained and killed one of them, it would do nothing to stop the rest enacting revenge.

_No! There must be something I can do! _

She suddenly realised that the inside of the rifle barrel being pointed at her might well be the last thing she ever saw. With a speed borne out of desperation, Rogue sprang to her feet in an instant, grabbing the man round the throat and twisting him around. Her hand came into contact with his skin and she began to drain his life force. Weakened by her power, his only reaction was to feebly claw at her. His compatriots swiftly turned their guns towards Rogue, but she had the guard's body positioned in front of her as a shield, and the other men dared not fire for fear of killing their comrade.

This wouldn't last. She knew that. She had to act while they were still uncertain. She couldn't keep this up for long. Eventually her draining would kill the man, and then his use as a living shield would be over. Rogue threw the man away from her, sending him flying into the rest of the humans. In the few seconds it took them to recover, she was running over towards Scott, grabbing him and turning him to face the soldiers.

"Now! Open your eyes!" she screamed.

But it was already too late. Before Scott could react, the bullets were already flying towards them. Rogue knew that they were both dead. There was no time to duck. In a split second she wondered if her life would flash before her eyes. She wondered if there had been another option, something else she might have tried, a chain of events in which she might not have died. She wondered if she would see her friends again in whatever came after death.

As it happened, she didn't get the chance to find out. The bullets had stopped, impossibly, in mid-air mere inches in front of her eyes. Instinct made her grab Scott and quickly move out of the way. It was a good few seconds before her brain realised what had happened, and then she looked up to see what was going on.

In front of her the guards were dying. On their knees or writhing on the floor, each was being throttled to death by his own rifle. The weapons had bent into rings and were around the throats of the helplessly struggling soldiers. The men pulled frantically at the 'collars' which choked them, desperately trying to loosen the constricting force. It was clear that it was a battle they were never going to win. Eventually, one by one, they fell to the ground dead. The sudden silence was like that of a tomb.

"What's going on?" came a surprised Scott's voice.

Rogue immediately hurried over to check on Iceman, but stopped before she got there. For it was in that instant that she recognised the figure standing at the end of the corridor. No. It couldn't be. It was impossible! It _had_ to be impossible. It was like seeing a ghost from the grave, for it was definitely him. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open in shock.

"You're alive!" she gasped.

Magneto merely smirked, and lowered the hand he had partially outstretched. Then the suspended bullets dropped to the floor, and the rifles untwisted and sprang away from the throats of the dead men. Rogue was instinctively on the defensive, moving towards Iceman to protect his unmoving form. Magneto made no threatening moves, so she allowed herself to relax slightly, momentarily.

"Magneto! What are you doing here? What do you want?"

"To open your eyes. I am not your enemy. You have been blinded from the truth."

"What are you talking about?"

The metal master held up Scott's visor and threw it to her, "I will explain. Rouse your friends and I will tell you everything. I only hope we have enough time left to face our real enemy."


	23. Chapter Twenty Two: World War III

"Prime Minister? Our ambassadors in New York are waiting for your decision."

The British Prime Minister looked up and nodded to his assistant in the doorway. The man left, closing the door behind him, and the Prime Minister sighed. Seated in his luxurious office in 10 Downing Street, he was faced with one of the most difficult choices he'd had to make in his political career. He'd held extensive discussions with his own party members, and with the leaders of the Opposition and Alternative parties. There had been voices and arguments on both sides, and the final decision rested with him.

Nuclear weapons. Every country in the UN except America was voting for their immediate and permanent disarmament. It only took two nations' votes to block the proposal. Britain's decision could well change the future of the world. The Prime Minister had his own views on the matter, but it wasn't as simple as just voting the way he wanted. He had to consider the political and diplomatic ramifications as well. He could vote with the US, and keep nuclear weapons. America had been Britain's strongest and closest ally for a century, so there was plenty of reason to agree with them. And despite the risks surrounding nuclear weapons, they did provide that extra level of discouragement to any potential attackers.

On the other hand, nuclear war was the last thing anybody wanted. And voting with America meant voting against the rest of Europe. Relations between the United States and the European Union were desperate enough already. Only shrewd diplomatic work from the British had prevented World War III from beginning five years ago (the Prime Minister wondered how long _that_ would remain a secret from the general public). If the world were a machine, then Britain would be the small yet vital cog that sat between the larger cogs of America and Europe, and kept the whole process stable. For years the PM had been working to avoid making any kind of choice that would upset the balance. Now that decision had arrived. He had to side with one or the other. Even abstaining would still be seen by the White House as betrayal.

_Voting either way could lead to war between the two sides. It could well lead to the annihilation of Britain. If we vote against America, they might grow angry and withdraw from the UN completely, ignoring the nuclear disarmament treaty, declaring war on anyone they wanted to. In that case, God help us. We would be the obvious target._

_If we vote against Europe, we put our own safety at equally great risk. America would be on our side, but they're 3000 miles away, and France and Germany are just across the sea. Diplomatic relations could collapse entirely, and we would be right in the path of an almighty backlash from the entire continent._

_I can't believe it's come to this. International mistrust and tolerance are at an all-time low. The entire northern hemisphere is a gigantic tinderbox. All it takes is a tiny spark to ignite world war. And whatever I decide, the fuse will be lit anyway. _

The Prime Minister was not a religious man, but never had he more wished for some kind of divine inspiration to help him make this decision. Appearing ever confident and decisive in front of the press and public, he was now a completely different picture. Shoulders slumped, hair unkempt, glasses pushed to the top of his head to allow him to rub his tired eyes, he concentrated furiously, fighting against the stress and fatigue that fogged his mind and dulled his thoughts. _I have to clear my mind. I have to think clearly and logically. There has to be a solution to this problem._ _We can't simply be facing annihilation whatever I decide._

For a moment he had the strangest feeling of being somewhere else, but the next moment it had passed. The Prime Minister blinked as he opened his eyes and looked up.

"What was _that_?" he muttered to himself, putting his glasses back in place.

The feeling had been inexplicable. He'd never known anything like it before. It hadn't been a _bad_ sensation. In fact, he actually felt better. His mind was strangely clear, and he felt as if he could think straight for the first time in months. He smiled. The decision that had been troubling him, was troubling him no longer. He saw the solution now. It was so obvious. Why hadn't he realised it before? There was only one option to take. He didn't know what had just happened to him, but it had certainly helped him make the impossible choice.

He lifted the telephone.

* * *

"Gaia! Hey, Chloe! You still haven't told us what the hell is going on!"

Chloe had run straight from the hangar towards the communications room, with Pyro and Logan hurrying to keep up with her. Looking back over her shoulder, she called to them, "You remember the Professor built that little device that detects telepathic energy?"

"No," said Logan.

"It uses the same technology as Cerebro. He used it as a way of detecting other telepaths, or to measure his own telepathic output when he was testing Cerebro."

"Yeah, and?"

"Well, it's going crazy. There's a massive amount of telepathic energy spreading across Britain, and starting to extend into Northern Europe."

"Britain…that's where your husband took the Cerebro components – you think it's him?"

"I suppose it must be…but I don't understand what he's trying to do. If he's trying to look for Magneto with his telepathy, why not just do it here?"

"Maybe he thinks Magneto is there. Maybe it's easier to find someone when they're closer at hand."

"It shouldn't make a difference," she said. "He has enough telepathic power to cover the whole planet, so it doesn't matter where he starts from."

They had reached the communications room now, and the three of them gathered around the telepathic detector.

"It's reading off the scale," Logan said. "OK, Chloe, what's going on? What's your husband trying to do?"

"I don't know. Whatever it is…he didn't tell me he was going to do it."

"What do you think?"

"I don't know…maybe Magneto's done something else, or is about to do something…and Neil's gone to try and stop it…it must be something of desperate importance if he didn't even tell me he was going to do it…"

Pyro headed for the one of the computer terminals, "I'll go online and see if I can find out anything. Maybe something happened recently in London that drew him there. Maybe there's something there that he's interested in. Think, you guys. What's in London?"

"Well, there's the Royal family, though I can't see why Neil would be interested in them," said Chloe. "The Armed Forces all have their headquarters in London. Then there's the Houses of Parliament…he could be trying to talk with the government."

"Via telepathy?"

She shrugged, "Other than that, nothing in London springs immediately to mind. I don't really know it that well."

"You don't know London? Aren't you British?" said Logan in surprise.

"I prefer to think of myself as Scottish. And Britain isn't as small as some of you Americans seem to think. I've never been to London so I know nothing about it. The only city I really know is Edinburgh, where I grew up."

"Whatever. So can we assume he's either gone to talk to the army or the government?"

"Yes, but what about? What was so important that he had to drop everything and go, without telling me about it, and taking the Cerebro parts with him?"

She turned to Pyro, "John, try and find out if the government – my government – has said or done anything recently that might have worried Neil in some way. I haven't really been paying any attention to the news from home for a while, so if anything has happened, I'll have missed it."

"OK. Give me a minute."

Logan said to Chloe, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking? That your government has enacted some law involving mutants, and that's gotten Oculus worked up?"

"Yes, I was thinking on those lines," she agreed. "Britain already has a Mutant Registration Act, put into place when I was in my teens. It's a lot harder for our kind to live there than it is here. Fortunately, Britain has a much smaller population, and hence there are less mutants to suffer from the Act."

"So what do you think they've done now? The government, I mean. Made it illegal to be a mutant? Allowed us to be shot on sight?"

"I dread to think. When too many corrupt politicians get together, it's never good news for anyone."

Pyro nodded, "The humans can't be trusted to run this world for the benefit of anyone but themselves. There should be a mutant ruling class, paving the way forward for our species."

Logan snorted, "I don't think it matters who's in charge. Any kind of leader will only care about himself instead of the people he's supposed to be looking after."

"Does that include Xavier?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean: why did he do all the stuff he did? What was in it for him?"

Neither of the two X-Men replied. Pyro had led the conversation this way, that was clear.

"He had a dream for the future," said Chloe eventually. "A dream that, sadly, he never lived to see come true. He believed in what he was doing, John. Not even you can deny that."

"Can't I? I never understood why he did it. I never understood why any of you went along with him. Any fool can see that mutants and humans are never going to like each other. Obviously we all _want_ that to happen, but only he was delusional enough to think that it actually might."

Logan argued, "If you believe something's worth fighting for, then you have to go for it, no matter how crazy it might seem. The Professor did everything he could for what he thought was right, and he helped a lot of us to make something of our lives. Including you, I might add. It's just a pity you spat in his face and went to the dark side after what he did for you."

Pyro shook his head, "Xavier was a fool, chasing an impossible fantasy. Magneto was the one who could see the truth. He knew humans will never accept us. He realised that and accepted it, and did everything he could to protect mutants from harm."

"You're talking as if Magneto was dead," said Chloe. "Are you forgetting he's trying to kill us right now?"

The fire mutant sighed, "I don't know, I just don't understand it. Why he's doing this, why any of this is happening. It isn't him. It doesn't make any sense to say that, since we all know it _is_ him, but he's not the same man. Something happened to him."

"What?"

"I don't know. My daughter had this idea…I can't even remember what it was now, I was only half-listening to her…no, wait. I remember. She said that before Xavier died, he went into Magneto's mind and changed him, and made him into the man we're fighting right now. She said Xavier corrupted him."

"Oh, come on," said Logan scornfully. "Your kid's got an overactive imagination is all."

"Yes, I thought it was crazy too, but I've been going over it in my mind, and the more I do so, the more it makes sense. Think about it. Xavier's dying and he realises he isn't going to see his dream work out. Perhaps he realises he's been chasing a fool's errand all along, and has wasted his entire life on nothing. Then he sees that his arch-enemy was right all along, and that Magneto simply had his finger on the pulse and was trying to make the best of a bad situation. So in his anger, with his last remaining power, Xavier lashes out and fries Magneto's brain, warping his mind and changing him completely."

"Bullshit," Logan scoffed. "Your kid really _is_ crazy if she thinks that."

Chloe stepped between them before Pyro could leap to his feet in fury and throw a punch.

"My daughter is_ not _crazy," he hissed through gritted teeth. "If you knew half of what she's been through, you self-righteous bastard…"

"Oh, yeah?" Logan retorted. "Kept captive and experimented on by human researchers? Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt."

"You think you're something special because of that? What happened to my daughter was worse, _far_ worse…"

"I'd say having you for a father is about the worst thing that could happen to a kid her age, yes."

"Stop it!" Chloe demanded. "The situation is bad enough without the two of you trying to prove who's the hard man! Let's get our minds back where they were before, all right? Good. Now, John, did you find out anything about the parliament?"

His anger still simmering, Pyro said, "No. There's nothing. Your government's in the middle of discussing some trade agreement with the French, nothing more important than that. There's nothing that would have made Oculus rush over there the way he did."

"There must be _some_thing…" she said. "Wait a minute……I've got it! I know what it is."

"Do tell."

"The voting in the UN Security Council. The nuclear disarmament treaty. Britain's still voting with America and blocking the treaty. The next round of voting takes place any day now."

"Of _course_," said Logan. "Oculus was talking about that a few days ago, wasn't he? He was saying that all nukes should be destroyed."

Pyro agreed, "As I recall, he was quite outspoken on the matter. He couldn't believe that anyone, least of all his own country, was voting in favour of nuclear weapons."

"Right. So he's taken matters into his own hands."

"The telepathy…"

"Oh, shit," Logan breathed. "You realise what this means, don't you? He's using his mind control to get the British to vote in favour of the nuclear disarmament treaty!"

"That's it," Pyro nodded. "_That's_ why he's taken the Cerebro components all the way to London! He can read people's minds from anywhere in the world, but to actually control them – that's a different matter. He needs to be close to the targets."

"How do you know that?"

"Magneto told me. He helped build Cerebro, remember?"

Chloe finally interrupted, "No, no, this can't be right! Neil wouldn't do _that_! He wouldn't control people's minds like that! He wouldn't destroy their free will!"

"Wouldn't he?" Pyro said darkly. "That's another thing my daughter told me. Your husband was giving one of his lectures on Ethics, and that's what he was talking about. How evil only exists in the world because people have free will."

"He thinks he's defeating evil by taking away free will?" said Logan. "Oh hell, he really has cracked. I always guessed he was a bit screwy – after what his father did to him – I always wondered if he'd crack and do something like this…"

Pyro frowned, "What are you talking about? What about his father?"

But Chloe blocked any response:

"Now wait a minute!" she yelled furiously. "You have no right to go about accusing my husband this way! There is _no way_ he would do this without telling me! And he would never do anything like that without a good reason! There must be something else going on here; something he found out that we don't know about yet! There must be an explanation for what's happening!"

"There is, we've just outlined it," Logan said. "Look, it all fits. You see it, don't you? He's gotten so obsessed with his fear of nuclear weapons that he's gonna do anything to get rid of them. He's convinced himself that it's all right to take away free will if it helps to destroy what he thinks is evil."

"He's right, Chloe," Pyro said. "Hey, you think I'm going to agree with this asshole just for fun? Look, I know it's hard to take, that Oculus didn't tell you about it first, but – "

"No, I'm not listening!" she snapped. "You're jumping to conclusions and making this up because you want to believe bad things about him! I'm going to call him and he'll explain everything!"

"I thought you said you couldn't get through to him…"

She was already storming across the room to the communications equipment. She entered her husband's frequency, and waited for a response. This time she was finally able to make contact. He answered almost immediately:

"Yes?"

"Neil? It's Chloe. Where are you? What are you doing?"

"The tone of your voice suggests you already know what I'm doing."

"You're in London, aren't you? You said you were going to meet the UN, but they're here in New York instead! Why did you lie to me?"

"I'm sorry, Chloe. I've had to do a lot of things I didn't want to. I don't have any other choice."

"What are you talking about? Any other choice about what?"

"Nuclear weapons will destroy us, Chloe. They'll destroy all life on Earth unless we get rid of them. The nuclear disarmament treaty is our only hope of protecting ourselves and our children. We can't allow politicians to block it through their short-sightedness and self-interest."

"Neil, what are you doing? Are you using your mind control?"

"I'm sorry. I don't want to do it this way. But there is no other way."

"No!" she cried. "Are you _serious_? You can't do that! You can't take away people's freedom to do what they think is right!"

"Chloe, the Horsemen came within an inch of destroying the planet with nuclear weaponry. It was only by a bizarre twist of fate that Annie and Gary were able to stop them. The humans who are voting against this treaty don't realise how close they came to annihilation. They don't know how it happened."

"Neil, you can't do this!"

"I have to. Voting on the treaty ends today. This is the only way to ensure nuclear disarmament goes ahead. This is for the good of the entire human race, Chloe. It's what the Professor would have done."

"You don't know that! You can't justify it by just saying that! Neil, tell me exactly what you're doing. Are you taking over people's minds and forcing them to vote the way you want?"

"I can't allow them to make the wrong decision. It could kill us all."

"But how do you know _you're_ making the _right_ decision? The treaty won't mean anything if people haven't voted for it from their own hearts!"

"Chloe, once again, I'm sorry I had to deceive you. This is the only way to prevent a calamitous disaster. Once it's all over, you'll understand."

"No! Neil – "

But he had already cut off the communication. For several moments Chloe just stared at the microphone still in her hand, as if she couldn't believe what had just been said. Eventually one of the men broke the silence, "Well? What'd he say?"

"I – I don't believe it…" she whispered. "He's – you were right. He's…doing what you said he was. He's taking over minds to influence the vote on nuclear disarmament. I – I just can't believe that he would – "

"Damn it!" Logan growled. "Why now? Of all the times to do something crazy like this, why pick now? Doesn't he realise we've got more important things to worry about? Has he forgotten Magneto is trying to mind control us, or worse?"

Chloe put her head in her hands and groaned, "I don't know what to do. I don't know what to think. I can't believe he's doing this. I can't believe _any_ of this is happening."

"I can," Logan muttered.

"I knew the treatment made the others insane, but I never thought it could have affected Neil in any way…"

"I must be missing something," said Pyro, sounding slightly confused. "What are you talking about? What was that about Oculus' father?"

"Oh," Chloe said distractedly. "Has no-one ever told you? It's where Neil got his powers from."

"What, you mean he inherited them genetically? From his father?"

"No. It's, um, it's a long story."

"Summarise it for me."

"Well, Neil's father was a geneticist. He used to do some research work with the Professor. His name was Davor Rosiçky, and he was experimenting with a method of implanting mutant powers into ordinary human beings."

Pyro glanced over at Logan, "Same thing as happened to you, right?"

"Not exactly," Chloe said. "Logan was already a full-grown man when he was…worked on…by Stryker. You see, Davor's implant treatment was at an experimental stage where it could only be tested on new-born babies. I think it was easier to implant the mutations while the body was at a very early stage of growth. Obviously it's impossible to get hold of a baby for research purposes, but Davor was becoming so completely obsessed by his work that he was prepared to go to any lengths. His wife became pregnant, and died in childbirth with Neil."

"I get the picture," said Pyro. "He experimented on Neil, who became Oculus. That's where he got his powers from. Are you saying he was born human? He wasn't born one of us?"

"That's correct. Now fortunately the Professor knew what was going on, or at least some of it. He got Neil away from Davor and sent him to live with his maternal grandparents, with the intention of contacting him again when he was old enough to understand."

"Davor didn't come looking for him?"

"Not right away. His experiment on Neil was a success, a much bigger one than he might have expected. He concentrated on perfecting the technique. Within a few years it was ready for the next stage: testing on slightly older children. He abducted four kids, between three and five years old, and performed the experiments again. This time things didn't go quite as well as planned. The kids were implanted with the mutations, but their minds were changed too: warped and distorted, sending them irreversibly insane. Again, the Professor found out about it, and set the kids free."

"Experimentation on children…" Pyro shivered. "Davor wasn't a very nice man, I take it?"

"I don't know what he was like originally, but when his work overtook and consumed him, he was changed for the worse. It was an obsession, a cancer almost, eating away at him and corrupting him from inside."

"So what'd he do next?"

"He spent the next ten or so years improving the experimental technique further. Eventually he was able to develop it to such a level that it was safe to use on himself. At about the same time, the British government introduced the Mutant Registration Act. We suspect Davor was more than slightly involved in forcing that through. He was determined to find his previous subjects, now they were in their teens and ready to serve him. With the Act in place, he got hold of the four kids he'd experimented on, and they came to him willingly. He got another surprise when he found Neil. I think the Professor managed to deceive him into thinking Neil was dead."

"Go on," said the increasingly intrigued Brotherhood leader.

"He wanted to get hold of Neil right away. I don't know if he wanted to try and recruit him, or he simply wanted to eliminate him as a threat. Perhaps he'd made Neil more powerful than he really intended to, and didn't want him out there as a rival. Anyway, Neil and I were at the same school together, along with Chris and, um…Jacqueline. The four of us were rounded up under the new powers of the Mutant Registration Act, and taken straight to Davor. We managed to escape, and set about tracking him down. We had no idea who he was or what he wanted. We almost got killed when he sent two of his four subjects after us."

"I remember," said Logan. "Xavier sent Cyclops and Storm to get you out of that one."

"Right. That was probably Davor's biggest mistake. By trying to kill us, he only attracted the Professor's attention, and thus brought Neil and the Professor together. That was probably the one thing Davor was trying to avoid. We were brought here to the school, where the Professor finally told us what was going on."

"And as I recall, you split from here pretty quick."

"Yes, Neil and Chris wanted to go after Davor and his subjects, and settle things with them. Jacqueline and I decided our best option was to go with them. We didn't know who to trust, so we fled from the mansion and headed straight for Davor's lab. After a struggle we managed to kill him and the four kids."

Pyro looked at Wolverine, "And you think that Oculus went crazy as well? The same as the other kids Davor worked on?"

That was exactly what Logan thought, but he couldn't very well say that in front of Oculus' wife.

"I guess that could be possible," he said.

"Right, so what are we going to do about him?" said Pyro. "I mean, I couldn't care less about the fact that he's screwing around with humans' minds. But if he's influencing decisions that could very well change the future of the world, and if he's – well, if he _might_ be mentally unstable – we should at the very least be looking at him closely."

"But how can we?" Chloe argued. "We've got Magneto to worry about! He's a far bigger threat! And Neil isn't insane like Mindstorm and the rest! Maybe he's just…well, maybe he's been brooding too much on the danger of nuclear weapons. Maybe he's afraid that what the Horsemen tried to do might happen a second time…maybe there's more of an imminent threat than we realise."

"You're not saying you agree with him?" Logan glared at her. "Chloe, I know he's your husband, but he's clearly gone completely around the bend!"

Chloe looked away and said nothing. Pyro raised his eyebrows, "Look, you guys can do whatever you want, but I'm going to try and get in contact with my daughter or one of the rest of my students. I want to know what Magneto's doing right now."

* * *

"He's been planning this for years," Magneto spoke clearly and concisely. "I've been waiting for him to make a move, ever since Charles died. I'm only surprised it's taken him so long."

"Wait a minute," Scott interrupted. "What are you talking about? Who are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the biggest mistake Charles ever made. He always had too much faith in the goodness of others. He naively assumed that if he showed compassion and understanding to a person, they would reciprocate."

"Hey!" said Felicity angrily. "When you're finished insulting the Professor, will you tell us what this is all about? Why did you have us captured? Why did you have us rigged up to those sadistic traps? Why are you here? What are you doing?"

"You, my girl, are in no position to demand anything of me," Magneto said icily. "Suffice it to say that I have brought us together so that we may face our common enemy."

Scott shook his head, "Not good enough. Why should we trust you? You haven't even told us who this enemy is."

The older man sighed deeply, "I despair. Is there not one brain among you? Is there not one who has not been blind all these years? He was Charles' biggest gamble, and as I said earlier, his biggest mistake. Does this ring any bells? A child with so much power, so much potential, that not even myself, not even Charles, would be able to match him?"

The X-Men exchanged glances.

"You're talking about Oculus," said Scott.

Magneto pretended to sigh with relief, and said mockingly, "At last. I was hoping I wouldn't have to spell it out in nice big letters."

"I don't know what you're talking about. He's one of us. You're right, the Professor took a chance, but it paid off. Neil followed Xavier's teachings and joined us."

"Did he. I wonder, where is he now?"

"How should I know? You've had us locked up in here! Magneto, there had better be some explanation for this, unless you've just gone crazy!"

"I do not have to justify my actions to you or to anybody! I think you will find that, at this moment, I am the one who is – what is the phrase – calling the shots."

From somewhere on his person, Magneto produced a small cube of some metallic substance. With a casual flick of his hand, the cube dissolved and separated into hundreds, thousands of tiny metal specks. He smiled. The X-Men did not. The metal particles looked small and harmless enough, but they knew that Magneto could use them to rip through a person's body as easily as a knife going through butter.

Scott moved protectively in front of his friends, "All right, you've made your point. Our lives are in your hands. But you wouldn't have saved our lives just now if you were only going to kill us five minutes later. What do you want from us?"

"To help defeat our enemy, before he rises to a position of unconquerable strength. First, I suggest you contact your school and learn his whereabouts."

"What makes you think he's doing any of what you say? I've never seen him doing anything suspicious."

"Of course you haven't. Make the call."

"All right. Fine. I'll call them. Once we've ascertained that Neil isn't doing anything untoward, maybe you'd care to explain what you've been doing to us."

The other man nodded once, silently. Scott sighed and reached for his communicator, entering the school's frequency. Almost immediately, he was greeted by a panicking voice asking, "Neil? Is that you?"

"Chloe? It's Scott."

"Scott? Where are you? Are you OK? I don't believe what's happening; Neil's – "

"Chloe – Chloe, slow down. Calm down. Tell me what's going on."

"I can't believe it. I can't believe what's happening. Neil's – he's gone to London. It looks like he's trying to psychically dominate the British government! He's trying to influence the vote on nuclear disarmament!"

Then she snapped, "Shut up, Logan! He is _not_ out of his mind!"

"Is Logan with you?" said Scott. "How did he escape?"

Logan had obviously taken the communicator at the other end, as Scott heard his voice next, reluctantly admitting, "Um, Pyro's kids got me out. Cyclops, where the hell are you?"

"We're with Magneto."

"You're _what_! Listen, he's the one behind all of this! He's trying to use his mind control to take us over! He's got some new plan and it's something to do with this metal called constantium!"

Magneto overheard, and gave a soft chuckle, "Ask them about Oculus."

"We need to know what Neil is trying to do."

Logan said, "Chloe told you. He's in London and he's trying to take over people's minds. We think it's something to do with the vote on nukes. You guys wanna get back here?"

"Yeah. We're coming."

Scott hung up and turned to face Magneto, "All right, Magneto, I still don't know what your part is in all this. I still want to know why you've been holding us here, but that can wait. If we can find Neil and talk to him before he does anything stupid, we can get this straightened out. And _then_ maybe you'll answer some of our questions."

"Indeed. We have no time to lose."

The metal shreds began to move together, and concentrated into the cube once more. The X-Men breathed easy. Magneto had already turned and was leading the way to the exit. They hurried after him. Storm had been shot in the log and was struggling to walk. Kurt was supporting her. Iceman was dizzy through loss of blood but was not seriously wounded. Rogue had a hand on his shoulder just in case.

"What is this place?" Scott asked, but Magneto either didn't hear or simply chose to ignore him.

Eventually they stopped in front of a large, heavily sealed metal door, which Magneto swept open with a simple flick of his hand. Inside lay an impressive array of vehicles for all conditions: jeeps, tanks, hovercraft, helicopters, and three black jets that looked strangely familiar. Magneto was heading towards them.

"I thought I'd take care of them for you," came his sarcastic voice.

The group boarded one of the jets, and Scott went forward to take the controls.

"We must head for London immediately," said Magneto.

Scott turned to face him, and shook his head, "Not yet. We have wounded. We have to take them back to the school first."

"We cannot afford to waste time."

"Perhaps, but I'm not willing to take any risks. They need medical attention. Besides, we can pick up Logan and Chloe while we're there."

"Ah yes, the inestimable Wolverine. Truly an indispensable ally."

"I'm glad you think so. Oh, and I forgot – your old pupil is with them too."

A scowl instantly appeared on Magneto's face, and he hissed, "Pyro. I have no time for him."

The others in the back had strapped themselves in, and Scott hit the controls to take off. They were on their way back to the school. Shock and Shapeshifter had moved forward into the cockpit, and Felicity said, "OK, Magneto, it'll take a couple hours for us to get there. How about you explain yourself?"

"In what way?"

"For starters, what's with trapping us and putting us in your sadistic little prison cells? What was that supposed to accomplish? For someone who's claiming not to be our enemy, you're sure acting like one."

Magneto sighed, "It's hard to explain. I fear I am playing this game on a level far above your comprehension."

Shock glared at him, "Try me."

"Very well. I believe Charles might have put it like this: sometimes the mind needs to discover things for itself."

"What does that mean?"

"It means I could not simply tell you the truth. I could not simply tell you what Oculus was planning to do. Why would you believe me? If he knew that suspicions were aroused, he would become even more dangerous. I did what I had to do, to make you see the truth, without him realising."

"I don't see how your actions support that claim."

"Of course you don't. As I said, I'm doing things on a level you can't fathom. My actions regarding you may have seemed irrational and hostile, but psychologically they achieved my objective. You are receptive to the truth."

"OK, explain why you've pretended to be dead for so long. Explain why you don't look a day over sixty, when you should be touching ninety."

"In answer to your first question: when Charles died, I knew Oculus would begin to move. I knew my only hope was to feign death and remain hidden until the right moment. To answer the second point is more difficult. I will explain all, in time. For now we must concentrate on stopping him."

"But how did you know? How did you know he was going to do this, when we were living with him every day and we couldn't see it?"

"Years ago – you may not remember, you were but a child – he and I shared telepathic communion…"

"I remember."

"It lasted a matter of minutes, but it was enough for me to gain an insight into his character. I saw the instability. I saw the conflicting desires: wanting peace but wanting to achieve it through the wrong means, through utilising personal power to control others. I have no doubt Charles saw the same things, and believed he could teach the boy to work for the good of humanity. It would appear he underestimated the depth of the instability."

Fliss sighed, "I can't believe it. I can't believe he would do this. He's been my friend for years. I've always trusted him to do what's right. But still…I have to admit you're right. What you said about wanting peace but trying too hard to force it on people…I think that's the problem he's always had. Logan and Chloe said he's gone to London to try and influence some political struggle."

"Exactly. I've known for years this was going to happen. Even that tiny glimpse into his mind told me all I needed to know. I can't explain it to you because you don't have any understanding of telepathy. But if you know a person well enough, you can predict how they will react in a certain circumstance. Telepathy works more or less the same way. Or at least the analogy will do for someone of your limited understanding."

"Why didn't you tell anyone? Why didn't you tell the Professor?"

"Because I knew exactly how _he_ would react as well. He wouldn't see the boy as a danger. He would simply see him as a young mind to instruct and educate. He hoped for the best and did not plan sufficiently for the worst."

Unhappily, Shock frowned, "I guess…"

In the back, the injured Storm and Iceman were being made comfortable by Nightcrawler, while Rogue watched on. Shapeshifter was busy at the communications panel. A frown crossed his face and he looked round at Scott, "I'm getting weird reports from London. Britain voted in favour of the nuclear disarmament treaty. The Prime Minister has announced that the British military forces are to be disarmed and disbanded."

"_What_?" said Shock in surprise.

"It's Oculus," said Magneto, adding dryly. "He thinks he's saving the world."

"What do you mean?"

"I have no doubt his intentions will start off pure. I am certain he will convince himself that he is doing the right thing. He will believe that humanity is best served by what he is doing. He sees war and military might as a simple evil that must be removed. He is using his psychic powers to force the Prime Minister into doing this."

"But the Prime Minister alone doesn't have the power to do anything…" Shapeshifter protested.

"Then Oculus will control the minds of everybody he needs to. Everything in Britain is controlled from London. He can command the entire nation with the minds of just a few people."

"But why? And why now?"

"We can only guess at the reason for his timing. His motive is simple. He believes he is defeating evil. He believes that by getting rid of nuclear weapons and disbanding the army, he will be removing evil. This is the start of the chain reaction."

"What chain reaction?"

"Once he has started, he won't stop. He'll try to root out evil wherever he sees it, and will control the minds of anybody he needs to achieve his goals. Before long he will lose sight of his original definition of evil, and will simply see it in anyone who tries to oppose him."

Scott frowned, "You think he's turned into some kind of religious extremist?"

"Indeed. When it is twisted and corrupted, religion can be a terrifying and destructive force. I should know that better than anyone."

The journey north was short but tense. Each of them was locked deep in his or her own thoughts. The initial surprise at finding Magneto alive was now wearing off, and they were starting to consider things more logically. Could he be trusted? Was he lying? Was this a deception? No. They had confirmed his claims…the news reports, plus what Logan had said…but it seemed so incredible, too incredible. How could a man they had known for years been harbouring such dreams and plans? How could Oculus have kept this a secret for so long? How long had he been maintaining a deception? How could none of them had seen it? How could a person project an exterior that was so at odds with their inner self?

Shock suddenly stopped as a thought occurred to her: _Wait a minute…why did **Annie** never know about this? Annie can read minds. Even if Neil was lying to us, Annie would know about it from her telepathy. Ah. Wait. Who was it that taught her how to use her telepathy? But I just can't believe Neil is doing **any** of this! He's been my friend for years and we've loved each other almost like a brother and sister. How could he have been lying to me? How could he have been lying to Chloe? Magneto must be the one who's lying! This has to be a trick he's playing; it has to be! But we know it isn't. The evidence proves he's telling the truth._

_Oh, I feel so bad for Chloe. I wonder how she's coping. How can she be handling this? The man she's loved for half her life, with whom she created the children who saved the world from the Apocalypse…how can she possibly come to terms with what Neil is trying to do now? What would I do in her place? I don't know…I don't even want to think about it…_

When they touched down at the school, there was already a reception party waiting for them. Chloe, Logan and Pyro were moving towards the landing ramp as the others emerged.

"Are you guys OK?" Chloe asked urgently. "We were so worried about you!"

Fliss hurried down towards her, and the two women embraced.

"I'm so sorry about Neil…" Fliss sighed. "I know it can't be easy for you, but try and hang in there, OK?"

"I don't know what to think," Chloe groaned. "I'm still in shock from finding out what's happening."

"Just hang in there," her friend whispered, kissing her softly on the cheek.

Chris appeared beside them, "Chloe – where's Marina?"

"Yeah," said Fliss. "And where's Annie and Gary?"

"I don't know," Chloe repeated, shaking her head in confusion. "Marina's with the rest of the teenagers."

"Where are they?"

Before Chloe could respond, they were already being ushered back on board by Scott.

"Come on, we haven't a moment to lose," he said. "We have to get to London and find Neil. I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding and we can talk things over with him. We have to get there as soon as we can, before he does something regrettable."

They hurried on board, where the rest were already gathered. Kurt had taken Storm inside the school and was tending her injuries in the infirmary. Iceman was still dizzy from loss of blood, but was determined to keep going. The jet took off, and they were headed for London. Fliss guided the dazed Chloe to a seat, and strapped her in. Chris was busy at the controls, but the rest were watching intrigued as Pyro and Magneto finally came to face after four years. Far from seeming pleased to see his former mentor, Pyro was approaching Magneto with anger lining his features. While the metal master was studiously ignoring his old pupil, it was obvious that the younger man was determined to confront him.

"Magneto," he said frostily. "We have to talk."

"Really? I don't think we do. I don't think there is anything you have to say which I would care to listen to."

"And you can stop with the 'I'm-your-superior' crap. Stop it right now. You have a number of things to explain."

Magneto glared at him as if Pyro were some petulant child, "I do not have to explain myself to you or to anybody. I have made my own path since long before you were born, and I have never once had to justify myself, even to my equals. It would be laughable to consider you my equal. You should consider yourself privileged that I even acknowledge your presence."

Pyro lost his cool.

"What did you do to my daughter?" he yelled. "Five years ago you told me I was being sent to rescue her! You didn't tell me that you were the one who had her taken and imprisoned to start with! You didn't tell me that she was being physically and sexually abused! You lied to me, you bastard! Why did you do it to her? Why did you do that to an innocent child? Do you have any idea how much she suffers because of it?"

Magneto ignored him, turning to face the other way.

"Don't think you can just ignore me!" Pyro snapped. "Her own mother is part of your little group! She gave Gemini to you, and you used her as a research specimen! We know all about your conspiracy and your eleven friends! I can't believe you're actually associating with humans! What are you planning to do anyway, take over the world?"

There was no response. Pyro's hand strayed towards his lighter, but Rogue put her hand on his arm, stopping him from doing anything he might have soon regretted.

"Magneto, I think you should explain," said Scott. "If you want us to trust you, then you shouldn't have anything to hide. Telling us we wouldn't understand isn't good enough. After everything you've done to us recently, I think we deserve some kind of explanation."

"No doubt there is much you would like to know. Unfortunately, I do not exist simply to satisfy your curiosity. Suffice it to say that the development of constantium will ensure mutant survival for centuries to come."

"Constantium? Is that what this is all about? What's so special about it?"

A wry chuckle, "If only you knew how vacuous a statement you have just made. Constantium is the single greatest development our world has seen in over a century."

"What, because it's indestructible?" said Logan. "You want to use it as a weapon, don't you? Come on, why don't you just come out and say it?"

"Fortunately my mind is not so crude and feeble as yours. I do not merely seek to end life. My only desire is to protect myself and other mutants – even those as worthless as you, Wolverine – from those who would harm us."

"You mean…you plan to use it as some kind of shield?" said Fliss.

"Yes. Constantium is lighter and easier to utilise than adamantium. And it is indestructible – at least in a contemporary sense. It will be hundreds of years before the humans develop weapons powerful enough to threaten it."

"So what are you saying?" said Scott sarcastically. "That we all go about in suits of armour made out of this stuff?"

"That would certainly be an improvement on your current attire, but no, it's not what I had in mind. My plan is this: the establishment of a haven, somewhere in the world, where mutants can live in peace and security. An independent, self-sufficient community, protected from outside attack both by our innate gifts and by the unbreachable might of constantium. While the humans slaughter each other over their petty differences and mindless hatred, thus guaranteeing their own extinction, we can exist safely away from their destructive tendencies. When they have wiped themselves from the face of the Earth, we can take our rightful place as the number one species on the planet."

"That's bullshit," Pyro snapped, before any of the others had a chance to respond. "If you're so keen on protecting mutants, why did you send those guys to attack the school? Don't try to lie, because we know you _were_ the one responsible for that! And you _still_ haven't answered my question about Gemini!"

"An attack on the school?" Scott frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"He sent some mercs to the school to kill us off! You guys were all away; so it was just me and Chloe and the kids! And Oculus."

At this point Chloe looked up, "That's right! Neil was the one who stopped that attack and saved our lives! You're all so busy bad-mouthing him that you forgot to take that into account! He saved all of our lives!"

Magneto shrugged off the accusation, "Of course Oculus was the one to stop the attack. He was the one the attack was aimed at. The rest of you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Bullshit!" Pyro retorted. "They were trying to kill us! Don't try to tell me otherwise!"

"I think it more likely they were acting in self defence. Their instructions were to kill one man and one man only. I knew it was a gamble to take. I considered it unlikely they would be able to kill Oculus, even with the advantage of surprise. Still, human lives mean little to me. It was, as you might say, worth a shot."

"You were that sure?" said Rogue in surprise. "About Neil, I mean. You were that sure he was corrupted?"

"Of course. I only wish I had done something sooner. It might have saved us undue complications."

"Complications?"

"Yes. If Oculus manages to influence the vote on nuclear disarmament, he might upset the very delicate balance of trans-Atlantic diplomacy. A war between the US and the combined powers of Europe could erupt at any day."

"But why would you care? They'd only be humans getting killed," Logan mocked him.

"But mutants would be caught in the crossfire. Had I acted sooner, and already established a safe haven for our kind, we would not need to fear the imminent outbreak of global war."

"Are we really in such great danger?" asked Fliss nervously.

"Of course we are. Our only hope is to find Oculus and stop him interfering with the vote. That will stave off the coming war, for some time at least. I suspect the war is inevitable no matter what we do, but with a little extra time we would be able to move to a place of safety and watch the humans annihilate each other."

"Why didn't you tell us any of this before?" Scott demanded. "Why pretend to be dead?"

"Because, as I have already stated, it was necessary to wait until Oculus made some kind of move. Only with him out of the way could I hope to convince you of the truth. Otherwise he would simply have used his psychic powers to dissuade you. But we need fear that no longer."

"What do you mean?"

"Constantium is not only indestructible, it also utterly nullifies the power and effects of telepathy. It will keep us safe from him. The helmet I once used to block out Charles was an early example of my efforts in this field."

"So what do you want with us?" Iceman demanded. "I don't think you've explained why you had us locked up in those cells the way you did. What was the point in that?"

"Twofold. First, to keep you safe. Safe from Oculus. I knew he was planning to move soon, but I didn't know exactly what he was going to do. It was conceivable that he might have killed you all and set himself up as leader of your cause. For your own safety, I hid you away from him. The second reason was purely psychological. Before I could reveal myself and explain my position, your minds needed to be suitably…persuaded. Seeing me alive after four years would have been too much of a surprise. You might not have believed it was me. This was a subtler way of letting you know of my involvement."

"And the adamantium discs the terrorists were carrying," said Rogue suddenly. "Same deal?"

"Yes. I make no apology for the method of your imprisonment. It was necessary, and, if I may be permitted, somewhat amusing."

"We're all laughing," Logan snapped. "But I don't trust you. This stinks. You can dress it up in any way you want, but this whole thing stinks. Maybe Oculus has gone crazy, maybe war is going to erupt – but none of that means we have to trust _you_."

"I wouldn't expect you to. All I ask you to believe is that constantium can do what I say it can, and that it will protect us from our enemies."

"Nope, still don't trust you. There's more to this than you're letting on, isn't there? For one thing, you've been using your telepathic powers to try and control my mind, haven't you?"

Magneto raised his eyebrows, "No, I haven't."

"Oh, I'm sure you haven't forgotten. Cast your mind back just a little."

"I think I would remember. I would need quite a lot of cajoling to even consider entering that mass of unthinking muscle that you presumptuously call a brain."

"Nice to see you haven't lost your sense of humour, anyway," Logan said with heavy sarcasm.

"I wasn't aware of making a joke…"

* * *

Elena Cartëasis showed no signs of recognising her youngest daughter. She looked somewhat surprised at the appearance of a fourteen year old girl inside her laboratory, but other than that there was no reaction. Gemini waited, waited for her mother to give some kind of recognition, but there was none. She wasn't sure what she had been anticipating. She might have expected her mother to show fear, anger, disgust, hate, or even indifference. But she hadn't for one minute thought that the woman wouldn't even recognise her.

_I can't believe it! She destroyed my entire life and she doesn't even **remember** me! She ruined my childhood and nearly took away my adolescence and she doesn't even **know who I am**!_

Gemini felt tears brimming in her eyes, but she was determined not to show any pain. She wasn't going to cry. She wasn't going to let the monster see how upset she was. She had to be strong. Dad would want her to be strong. She remembered Dad…her first Dad, her real father, whose death had left little Alexandra to the not so tender mercies of her mutant-hating mother. _I miss you, Dad. I love Pyro and he's a wonderful father and he gives me everything I need…but he'll never replace you and nobody can…_

Elena had finished wondering what the girl was doing here. Her initial surprise began to wear off and her logical mind tried to construct a theory to explain the teenager's appearance. Perhaps she was the child of somebody who worked here, and had sneaked away to explore. That was feasible. Perhaps she herself worked here, and was just incredibly young-looking. That was implausible. Perhaps she wasn't supposed to be here at all, and had somehow gotten in through the security forces. That was impossible. Perhaps she was one of Mr Lehnsherr's girls. Yes. That was likely. Which meant she had to be here with a message from him.

"Do you have a message for me?" she asked.

"_Huh_?" the girl cried. "What the _hell_ are you talking about? Don't you know who I _am_?"

Elena blinked, "No. Should I?"

"What the hell do you mean? You gave birth to me! You gave me away to Van Gaarde so he and his friend could rape me! I'm gonna _kill_ you!"

"Gemini, no!" Cassandra urged, hurrying forward to grab her friend's arm.

But Gemini's rage was too much for the foreseer to contain. She broke free, her duplicate materialising into existence beside her, and the two twins ran straight towards the researcher.

It had taken Elena a moment or two to grasp what had just happened. Where one girl had stood, now there were two. As her logical mind made the only possible conclusion – that this girl was a mutant – she became aware of something else. A memory had sparked somewhere inside her. She had seen this happen before, a girl who could duplicate…but she couldn't remember where. She backed away from the frenzied onslaught, fending off wild blows from the twins' fists.

"Gemini! Stop it!" Cassandra yelled. "She'll have information we need! You can't kill her!"

Running forward, Cassie put herself in front of Gemini, forcing the two twins to stop before hurting their friend.

"Get out of the way, Cassie!" they screamed in unison. "I'm gonna kill her!"

"You _can't_ kill her. We need her to tell us where Magneto is and what he's doing! After that we can deal with her."

Her momentum checked, Gemini's overwhelming anger burnt itself up. She breathed in deeply, forced herself not to cry, and drew her twin back into herself. Cassandra turned to the wary-looking Elena, "Where's Magneto?"

"Magneto? Are you talking about Mr Lehnsherr?"

"Where is he? What is it he's trying to do?"

"What's he trying to do? He's my research partner. Well, senior partner, more like my boss really. Together we developed constantium. It's his brainchild. Now, will someone tell me what's going on here?"

The genuine confusion in the woman's voice made Gemini frown.

"You really don't know who I am, do you?" asked the duplicator.

"No. I'm sorry, have we met before?"

"I'm your _daughter_. You abandoned me!"

This time it was Elena who frowned, "I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about. I don't have any children. I've never even been married."

"Yes you _have_. You were married to my dad. You had me, and my older sisters, Melody and Symphony."

"Sorry…I think you must have me mistaken with somebody else."

"Huh? No, I'm not mistaken! You hated me because I was a mutant! You gave me over to Van Gaarde to use as a lab rat! Was that Magneto's idea? How long have you been working with him?"

"How long? I, uh, seventeen years."

_Seventeen **years**? _Gemini thought incredulously, _that means everything Magneto ever taught me or Dad was a lie! He was planning this whole thing all along! Why did he **do** that? Why did he lie to us?_

"When did he set up this little cabal you're running?" Cassie asked. "The millionaires and the politicians and lawyers and such? How long's that been going on for?"

"I don't know…a couple of years…look, who _are_ you? What are you doing here?"

"We'll be the ones asking the questions," Gemini snapped. "If you want to remain alive."

"What is he offering them?" Cassandra demanded. "Huh? What is Magneto offering these billionaires to make them join him? What are they getting out of it?"

Elena hesitated, "I…can't tell you that. Mr Lehnsherr swore me to secrecy."

"Never mind that. Tell us," Gemini insisted.

"I can't! I'll lose out on my twelfth! I mean – "

The teenagers looked at each other. From the woman's tone of voice, clearly she hadn't meant to let that slip.

"What do you mean, your 'twelfth'? What is that?" one of them asked.

"I can't say any more! Look, will you just go? I've got a lot of work to do, and if you haven't got a message for me, you've got no reason to be here!"

"Is it really him?" said Gemini. "Is it really Magneto? I just can't believe that he's – are you _sure_ it's really him?"

"Of course," said Elena. "At one point we demanded proof of his identity, and he was happy to submit to a DNA test. We got a sample of his blood from the Justice Department, and compared it with a sample he gave us. He is Erik Magnus Lehnsherr."

"_No_!" the girl shrieked. "It can't be! He can't have lied to me all these years! It _can't_ be him!"

But her mother's response had not surprised her. She'd known all along it really was Magneto. But as long as there had been even a scrap of doubt, she'd clung to it with desperate hope. She'd wanted it to be some kind of deception, somebody else dressing up as Magneto and pretending to use his power for whatever reason. She hadn't wanted her Dad's hero to turn out to be a charlatan.

"When did you first meet him?" Cassandra asked out of curiosity.

"About seventeen years ago. When we started working together. I'd just finished my PhD in bio-metallurgy. He approached me and offered me a job working on his constantium project."

"He's a mutant – do you know that?"

"Mr Lehnsherr? Oh, I don't think so. He's a researcher."

"No, he isn't!" Gemini insisted. "He's a mutant! He was leader of our group called the Brotherhood! He fought to protect mutant life from being threatened by humans!"

"What – really?"

"Yes! Why…has he told you something different?"

"I'm not sure. I'm not sure we're even talking about the same man…"

* * *

"Anything new?"

Marina jumped a little in surprise as she heard his voice. She'd been so immersed in her work that she'd forgotten Dominic was there. Tapping a few keys, she frowned at what she saw on the computer screen in front of her.

"Um – maybe," she said uncertainly. "Wh – where have I heard the name William Stryker?"

The boy thought for a moment, "He was someone the Professor used to know. Before we were born. I think he worked for the military, in weapons research. I think he was part of the project that gave Logan his metal skeleton and his claws. He was killed at the same time as Dr Grey."

"Who?"

"You know, Cyclops'…friend."

Marina blinked, "Oh."

"Why did you ask about Stryker?"

"There's – there's something about him here. It looks as if – as if M – M – Magneto was working with him."

"What? That can't be right!"

She flinched slightly, "Well, that's what it says."

"Let me see."

He stepped forward to read over her shoulder.

"See?" she said. "Mag – Magneto and Stryker worked together to create adamantium. They experimented o – on Logan to test out the metal. But – but it proved to be too difficult to process, so after Stryker died, M – Magneto started trying to develop constantium."

Dominic shook his head, "This doesn't make any sense. We've had dealings with Stryker before. Cyclops keeps archives of all our past missions, and I read about Stryker in one of them. In fact, if I remember correctly, Magneto actually joined together with us, to fight against Stryker. Stryker was threatening mutant life, manipulating the Professor in some way."

"If – if you're right…then, yeah, this doesn't make sense. If Stryker died seventeen years ago – just before Annie was born – then M – Magneto must have been working with him ever since. But how could that be true?"

"I don't know…listen, Marina, can I leave you here for a bit? I want to go and look for Scott and the rest. We need to discuss this with them. They know more about Stryker than we do. Before we go any further, I want their input on this. If you want me to stay and…and watch over you, then I'll stay, but – "

"I – I can look after myself, Dominic," she said a little reprovingly.

"OK…well, keep looking for information. I'll be back."

"OK. See ya."

Ignoring his masculine instincts telling him to stay and protect a vulnerable female, Dominic hurried to the exit. Marina had found a map on the computers earlier, and he was pretty certain he knew where the X-Men were being held. He hoped he could get there without getting into too much trouble, and before anything might happen to them. Security in the base still seemed to be low, and he managed to reach the set of elevators he was heading for without meeting another living soul. Looking around to make doubly sure, he stepped into one of the lifts when it opened. It was possible there were security cameras watching him, but Marina had done her best to disable most of the security systems. Hopefully there would be no trouble in that regard.

When the lift got to the bottom floor, he cautiously glanced outside to make sure the coast was clear. It seemed so. The cells where the X-Men were being held should be just up here on the left. Dominic turned the corner, and instantly his heart sank. Then he felt a sense of relief as he realised the dead bodies lying on the floor did not belong to his friends. But who were they? How had they been killed? He moved over to take a closer look at the corpses. Strange. They looked like security guards. That meant they must work here. If they were dead, that must mean his friends had escaped! They'd got out! But where were they? Were they still on the base? How long ago had this happened?

He knelt down beside one of the dead guards to try and find some clues about what had happened. The guy's body was still warm – so it couldn't have been all that long ago he'd been killed. Three bullet holes in his spine were testament to how the unfortunate man had met his end. The next man along had been hit twice in the back of the head, as had two or three others Dominic could see. This corridor must have been where his friends had been held. The rooms on either side certainly looked like holding cells.

Wait a minute…this didn't add up. If his friends had escaped, then they must have been the ones who'd killed these guards. Self defence, obviously, but the men had been shot…the X-Men wouldn't have been using guns. Would they? No, of course not. They didn't need them. Someone else must have killed these men. Who would have done that? Nobody immediately came to mind. Maybe in their panic they had fired blindly and killed each other. Could Nightcrawler have teleported in amongst them and they'd fired instinctively, hitting only themselves? It sounded possible.

No…the shots were too precise for that. If that had happened, there would be random bullet holes in the walls and the ceiling almost everywhere. There were none. Not a single shot had gone astray. This was strange…very strange. The men's weapons were still lying by their dead bodies, and Dominic picked up one of the rifles. He checked the ammunition. The magazine was still full. So were those on the next three guns he inspected. This was even more odd. These weapons had never been fired. The men had been shot from behind. There had to be someone else, someone who helped the X-Men escape. Could it have been one of the other teenagers? Vertigo maybe? No. Pyro's students would never use weapons. That was one of their strictest rules. It seemed daft to Dominic. If you were going to kill someone, what did it matter how you did it? Ideally you should never be looking to kill anybody at all.

Maybe the X-Men were still here. If so, he could try and communicate with them. Their comm. devices would likely have been stolen when they were captured, but the emergency back-up ones should still be safely hidden inside their uniforms. Maybe if he could get in touch with them, they could shed some light on what had happened here. He took his comm. from his belt, "Guys, this is Helios. Anybody reading me?"

"I – I read you," came Aqua's voice. "What's up?"

"I was trying to see if I could contact our friends. Nobody seems to be responding."

"Any idea where they might be?"

"I'm not sure. I think I've found the cells where they being held. But it looks as if they've broken free, and pretty recently too. Maybe they've already left."

"Any sign of Mag – Mag – "

"No. He must be here somewhere, because he tried to use his mind powers on Cassie. I wonder if he knows _we're_ here. How about you? Find anything new?"

"Yeah. I – I found out the name of one of Magneto's other associates, another guy who died about the same time as Stryker."

"Oh yeah. Who?"

But before she could respond, something else grabbed Dominic's attention. Out of the corner of his eye he saw movement, and quickly turned to see who was approaching. Maybe it was one of the other X-Men. A moment too late, he realised it was not. The man, perhaps a survivor of the security force, stared at him for a moment, then attacked. His hand moved in a blur as he grabbed a combat knife from a sheath on his hip, and sent it spinning through the air towards the young X-Man.

Helios screamed as the knife embedded itself into the arm he'd flung up to protect himself. The shock and the sudden pain knocked him off balance, and he fell on to his back, his other hand reaching weakly for the knife, overwhelmed by the excruciating pain.

Major Philippe Devant, the man known as Nine, moved cautiously towards the struggling mutant. Born almost literally on the border between France and Belgium, his family had emigrated to the US when he was four years old. He had joined the army at an early age, and his exceptional bravery, physical prowess, decision making and weapons expertise had seen him swiftly recommended for the special forces. At the age of twenty-seven he was already commanding his own elite unit in the more secretive reaches of the US Army. Although heavily decorated and idolised by his men, he soon grew disillusioned with the government's somewhat cavalier attitude towards preserving the lives of their soldiers. Drawn by the lure of money, he had resigned from the army and turned mercenary. Contracts had not been slow to come for the man known as the world's greatest soldier. One day he'd been contacted by a man named Erik Lehnsherr, and the rest was history. He maintained his own mercenary force, made up of two teams, and they were kept busy eliminating targets named by Lehnsherr. Devant had never failed to rub out a target once in his career.

But then, he had never come up against mutants before. His primary force, Team Alpha, had been completely destroyed by the ill-fated attack on the mutants' school. Devant had barely escaped with his life. He still couldn't quite piece together what had happened. Lehnsherr had said something about a telepath…were there mutants with enough psychic power that they could actually rip apart others' minds? That would certainly explain what had happened.

Now he stood over the dead bodies of his secondary force. Team Bravo had been sent to round up the escaped mutants in the detention area. Clearly, they had not survived. Where were they now? And where was Lehnsherr? Devant's instinct told him something was wrong. Someone was not playing by the rules Devant had been aware of. Maybe this boy could give him some answers.

"Where are the rest of the mutants?" he demanded, wrenching the teenager to his feet.

Dominic struggled to get free, fighting against the pain, but the soldier only tightened his grip and repeated his demand, "Where are they?"

"How the fuck should I know?" spat the Londoner.

Forcing himself to remain conscious, he pulled off his glove and thrust the palm of his hand into the man's face, ready to permanently blind him with solar energy. Shit. He'd forgotten. He'd already used up all of his stored solar power in the tunnel on the way in here. OK. Fine. His only other hope was to get at one of the flash bombs secreted in his uniform. Damn it. They were on the wrong side of his body. He could only reach them with his injured arm. He tried…no, the arm wasn't working. Then he remembered he was still holding the communicator in his other hand.

"Marina!" he yelled into it. "I need help!"

Devant snatched it out of his hand and flung it aside. Dominic could only hope he'd managed to get through to her. The irony didn't escape him. He'd seen himself as being a protective figure for her, and now he was in need of _her_ protection…

Devant thought fast. If the boy had called for help, that meant there were other mutants still in the base. And it was likely they'd be on their way here. If Team Bravo were dead, that meant he was the only security personnel left alive in the base. Unless Lehnsherr was around somewhere with his freaky metallic powers…but he could have been anywhere. Time to finish off this kid and get ready for whatever might come next. Devant smacked his fist into the back of the boy's neck, hitting the nerves in the spine, and knocking him unconscious. Dominic slumped to the floor unmoving. _Best to keep him alive…for now. I might need him for bargaining. Depends how things go…_

The man turned as he heard the sound of footsteps approaching. The first of the mutant's friends had arrived. A figure appeared at the end of the corridor, and Devant assumed a fighting stance. Then he frowned slightly. He looked down at the unconscious mutant on the ground, then at the one who was now opening the palm of his right hand. It was the last thing the mercenary ever did.

* * *

Marina ran quickly towards the elevator. She'd heard the desperation in Dominic's voice, and she knew he had to be in serious trouble. Perhaps he'd been attacked. Maybe some humans had gotten hold of him before he could find the rest of the X-Men. Whatever, she knew she had to get to him _now_. If one of her friends was in danger of getting hurt, she had to do everything she could to help them. She had already failed to save her family from death. She was determined she would never allow any of her friends to suffer while she did nothing to aid them.

"D – Dominic?" she spoke into her comm. "Are you still there?"

No response. Was he too hurt to answer? Was he – could he be dead? _No, I can't even think that. I can't even imagine that it might be true…_

As soon as the elevator reached the bottom floor, she ran out, looking around for Dominic. Spotting the first of the dead men at the fork up ahead, Marina hurried over to investigate. Was it Dominic? No, it wasn't. She didn't recognise the corpse. It had to be one of the guards at the labs. There were more bodies, and she checked them. They were all dead. They were all guards. She moved around the corner to explore there.

"Dominic!" the girl exclaimed as she saw his unmoving form.

Dropping to her knees beside her friend, she feared the worst. He wasn't moving. Was he breathing? She couldn't be sure. She shook him, hoping he would wake.

"D – Dominic?"

He didn't move, but she could feel his chest rising and falling. He was alive. Her initial fears calmed, Marina looked around for some sign of what might have happened to him. He had called for help, so somebody or something must have made him do that. Nobody else in the corridor was moving. There were various other bodies; they all appeared to be wearing the same security uniform, except one. He was slightly different. All of the men were dead. They had to be; they were lying in pools of blood and none of them seemed to be breathing. Marina decided to investigate what had happened to them in a moment or two. Right now she was more concerned about her friend. She shook him again but he still didn't respond.

The sound of running footsteps grabbed her attention. There had to be more guards coming. Marina shook Dominic once more but he wouldn't wake. She stood, ready to defend the two of them from attack. Tensing her muscles, she wondered how far she was from a source of water. She knew the labs extended out on to and under the ocean. She wasn't sure if there was any access to the sea from where she was just now. She pushed out with her senses…no, she couldn't feel the presence of any water near enough to be of any defensive value. Nervously she awaited the oncoming footsteps.

Gemini and Cassandra came hurrying round the corner, and Marina breathed easily.

"Is Helios OK?" said Gemini breathlessly.

"I – I'm not sure. He's breathing, but he won't wake."

"What happened? We still had the communicator switched on; we heard him calling for help! I guess you got here first. What was the matter?"

"I don't know that either," Marina admitted. "Listen, um, these guards are dead. We have to find out what happened to them. Dominic was – was trying to find our friends."

Gemini shrugged, "Maybe they tried to escape, and killed the guards."

Cassie knelt down beside Dominic, and gently put her hand on his forehead.

"Helios?" she whispered. "Are you awake? Can you hear me?"

He stirred, and his eyelids twitched, "Cassie? Is that you?"

She smiled down at him, "Hey. Are you OK?"

"Uh, I think I'm all here. Where is he? Did you get him?"

"Who?"

"Some security guard. He ambushed me and knifed me in the arm. I managed to call for help but then he knocked me out. Did you kill him?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Cassie, sounding confused.

Gemini took charge of the situation, "All right. Cassie, stay with Helios, make sure he's not hurt. Aqua, keep your eyes open for anyone coming. I'm going to try and make some sense out of what happened here."

Cassandra helped Dominic into a sitting position, and looked at him, "You said you got hurt?"

"Yeah. I took a knife in the arm. It's – "

He looked down at the arm where he'd been stabbed. He looked again. The wound was gone.

"I don't see a stab wound," she told him. "Look, Helios…Dominic…I don't really know how to say this, but I haven't thanked you for saving my life earlier."

"I did?"

"Yeah, you did. When you stopped me jumping out of the helicopter, remember. Magneto messed with my mind and made me go crazy. There was no way I could have stopped myself. I'd be dead now if you hadn't reacted the way you did."

"I thought you'd just lost your balance or something."

"You said you wanted the chance to get to know me better."

"Um, yeah. But if you don't want to, then that's OK. Unless you've changed your mind…"

"I'm…not sure. Earlier I said definitely no, but…maybe I have changed my mind. I'm not saying it's changed to 'yes'. It's changed to 'maybe'."

"OK…"

"But you mustn't expect me to make up my mind right away. I've been hurt before by guys who said they loved me…I have to be absolutely sure it's what I want before I make a decision."

"Yeah. That's fair enough," then he frowned. "I don't understand. I know I got stabbed. I can't find the wound anywhere. Can you check my back? I might have got confused with the pain."

Moving around behind him, she gently ran her hands over his back, feeling the tight black uniform underneath her fingers. She couldn't find any injuries…except for one large gash in his shoulder pad. Tenderly and very carefully she prised apart the torn section of uniform to look at the wound underneath. There wasn't one. She touched the healthy skin underneath, "Does that hurt?"

"No. Find anything?"

"Well, there's a tear in your uniform that looks like a knife did it. But your shoulder is perfectly all right underneath."

"That doesn't make sense. I know the guard knifed me. I don't understand – what happened to him?"

"He was killed," came Gemini's voice.

They looked over at her. The duplicator and the aquanoid were crouched over one of the dead guards. It was the one Marina had noticed as wearing a different outfit from the rest of the humans. Cassandra and Dominic moved closer.

"That's the one who attacked me," Dominic said.

Gemini nodded, "It's the guy who led the attack on the school."

"You're sure?"

"Definitely. Aqua? This the guy you saw?"

Marina nodded, "He was – he was talking to Magneto at the Admiral's house. His name is D – Devant."

"He's dead? What happened to him?" asked Cassandra.

"Throat cut," Gemini said. "Hard to say what did it. An animal? A blade? Helios, did you see what happened?"

"No. I'd been knocked out. Marina, how long did it take you to get down here? After getting my call?"

"Uh, I dunno. No m – more than a couple of minutes."

"So who killed him?" said Cassie. "Are any of the X-Men still here?"

Dominic shook his head, "I don't think so. They must have escaped. I tried to call them, but nobody answered. So how did you guys get on? Find anything?"

Gemini looked away, "We, uh, we found my mother."

"I thought you said she was dead," said Marina.

"I thought she was too. But she must have been living in secret, and working with Magneto. I don't get it, though. It's obvious the two of them decided to use me as a lab rat in their sick little experiments. But she claims it never happened. I don't think she's lying, either. I think she genuinely doesn't remember it. She didn't know who I was at all."

"Maybe she lost her memory," said Dominic.

"But she said she'd been working with him for seventeen years. That's, like, longer than I've been alive. If she can remember that far back, she should be able to remember me."

"Maybe he wiped her memory, or – or something," Marina ventured.

"Yeah…_yeah_! That could be it. Maybe he screwed with her mind, like, with his telepathy, and made her forget about me. Maybe she was beginning to ask questions about the daughter she gave away all those years ago."

"Where is she now?"

"Don't know. We were in one of her research labs with her, when we got Helios' call. Cassie insisted we go to help him."

Cassandra shrugged, "To be honest, I don't think there's too much more we could have learned from your mom. Magneto is the one we need to find. There's something strange going on, stranger than anything we previously thought. A lot of things don't make any sense. We have to find him to get our answers."

Marina spoke shyly, "Any sign, um, any sign of Annie or Gary?"

"No. Have you heard from Vertigo?"

"We haven't," said Dominic, then sighed. "I wish I knew what was going on here. I honestly thought that guy was going to kill me. Yet when I came to, he was dead and my wound had been healed."

Marina looked up, "Maybe it was Gary. Or Annie. They can heal."

"So where are they now?"

"I dunno."

"Maybe they're trying to track down Magneto as well," suggested Gemini.

"Could be," Dominic agreed. "D'you find anything else on the computers, Marina?"

"Yeah. I was – I was telling you about it just before, um, just before you got attacked."

"Well?" he prompted.

"Uh, Magneto had another friend who – who died about the same time as Colonel Stryker. I wouldn't have given him much notice, e – except for his name."

"Which is?" Gemini asked.

So Marina told them. And they were even more puzzled and bewildered than they had been before.


	24. Chapter Twenty Three: True Colours

"Something's wrong," Wolverine told the others the moment they emerged on to the streets of London.

Shock looked around in surprise, "Yeah…where is everybody? The streets are deserted."

Magneto said, "It's Oculus. He's controlling the inhabitants of London."

"Is he powerful enough to do that?"

"A foolish question. You can see the evidence with your own eyes."

Logan shook his head, and sniffed the air keenly, "It's not just that. There's definitely something amiss. Something just doesn't add up. My senses are trying to give me a warning, but I can't figure out what it is."

"Perhaps he has laid a trap," Magneto suggested. "Come. We must hurry. I know where he will be. The Prime Minister's office is in Downing Street. He'll be controlling the city from there."

It was not far. They had landed as close as was safely possible. They hurried the rest of the way, through empty, desolate streets completely devoid of life. With every step, Logan's apprehension grew. His feral instincts were screaming 'danger' to him, but he couldn't for the life of him work out why. Was it a scent he couldn't quite put his finger on? Was there some kind of ambush awaiting them? He scanned their surroundings carefully, but couldn't see any indication of a hidden threat. Maybe it was just anxiety and confusion and suspicion all knotted together inside of him. He had to focus.

"He's here," Magneto said, breaking the silence. "I can feel the psychic energy. Even you can feel it, can't you Pyro?"

"Yes," the younger man said sullenly.

"What's our plan, chief?" said Shapeshifter, looking at Scott.

Cyclops decided, "We have to find Neil and talk to him. We have to convince him that while his motives may be pure, his means are all wrong. We have to track him down as quickly as possible."

"No," said Magneto. "Nobody must approach him but me."

"Oh yeah?"

"Any of the rest of you will simply fall to his psychic power. You'll become his mindless slaves, like this entire city. You can't go near him."

"I thought you said you needed our help," said Rogue suspiciously.

"Indeed I do. I need you to create a diversion, to distract him, so I can approach him without detection. If I can get to him unawares, it will simplify matters greatly. And when he discovers our intentions, no doubt he will send London's military forces after us. That should keep you occupied."

"We can't trust him," Pyro snapped, pointing an accusing finger at Magneto. "He's hiding something. He still hasn't answered my question about what he did to my daughter. We can't trust him."

"We can trust him about as much as we can trust you," Logan shot back. "After all the shit you've pulled, you've got no place telling us who can or can't be trusted."

"I'm going in too," said Pyro. "I can block psychic power. It won't affect me. And Cyclops, don't argue. You'd be wasting your breath. I don't take orders from you. Or from anybody any more."

"All right, fine," Scott responded. "We don't have time to argue about it, so get moving."

Without another word, Pyro and Magneto turned and hurried inside the door of number 10 Downing Street. The others watched them go, then focussed their attention on Scott, "What's the plan?"

"Like he said, a distraction. We have to get Neil's attention away from here. We have to do something that makes it look as if we're threatening his plans."

"Such as?"

"I'm thinking. Gaia?"

There was no response from Chloe.

"Gaia?"

Fliss glanced around, "Hey, where _is_ she? Chloe?"

"Where'd we lose her?"

"Gaia?"

"Chloe! Where are you?"

"Do you think she's been attacked?" Fliss gasped.

"I don't know," said Scott. "But if she's in trouble we have to find her. Damn it, we can't afford any delay! We'll have to split up and search. Move!"

They rushed into action, hurrying off in different directions to look for their missing friend. Maybe Magneto had been right. Maybe there had been a trap, one so skilful that Chloe had been grabbed when nobody noticed. Whatever, they knew they had mere minutes to find her. Any more time than that and they would be jeopardising the whole operation.

* * *

Magneto seemed to know where he was going, so Pyro followed him through the interior of the Prime Minister's residence. Pyro was growing more and more unsettled by the moment. He couldn't shake the feeling that – in some strange way – they were being watched. As if some kind of presence was with them…as if the whole building was itself some kind of presence. Sometimes he felt as if they were being followed. He thought he heard footsteps, or voices, or other unexplained sounds. He hadn't felt comfortable from the first moment he'd stepped into this building. There was _something_ lurking here, some invisible unexplained force. Was it Oculus and his psychic energy? Was it something else? Had Magneto gotten it all wrong? Could there be some other horror prowling here, waiting for them?

"Are you getting this really weird feeling? That we're not alone?" he asked.

At first he thought he was just going to be ignored again, but Magneto spoke, "Of course we can feel it. It's his psychic power, spread over the city like some kind of bubble. It feels stronger now because we're getting closer to the source, to Oculus himself."

"And what are we going to do when we find him?"

"Whatever is necessary."

* * *

It was time they could not afford to waste, but none of them was willing to leave a friend potentially in danger. Could Chloe have been attacked? They doubted she had simply gotten lost. Was there some kind of hunter out here, stalking them? It seemed unlikely. Neil wouldn't be capable of doing that while maintaining his psychic dominance. And besides, he wouldn't attack his own wife, would he? They couldn't be sure.

Logan had picked up her scent quickly enough, first retracing his steps back to the jet. She'd been with them at that point…where had her path suddenly diverged? He could follow her trail now…yes, she'd gone off a different way somewhere along the line. But why? Had she seen something? Had she been knocked out and dragged? Had she been unable to cope with what Neil was doing, and hidden herself in denial? Well, he'd know soon. The scent was getting stronger. He had to be close now…

He never saw the attack coming. A heavy object crashed into the back of his skull, and Logan was knocked to the ground. In the last moment before unconsciousness, he suddenly realised what it was that had been bothering him, that his senses had been warning him about. But it was too late to do anything about it now…

* * *

Rogue had been close enough to hear the impact. The sound of a body crumpling to the floor filled her with dread. Somehow she knew, instinctively, that one of her friends had just been attacked. She thought about calling the others to warn them, but the attacker had to be close, and she didn't want to give away her position. She crouched to reduce her visibility, and looked intently in the direction the sound had come from. There was no movement, and no more sound. She decided to take her chances and began to crouch-run over that way. Nothing stirred, and she began to wonder if the noise really had been what she'd thought it was. Could she have been mistaken. Could her nervousness and confusion have been messing with her mind?

A sudden noise made her turn, but she saw no more of the attacker than Logan had. A solid weight hit her between the eyes, and her world became darkness.

* * *

Scott knew something was wrong when he found Iceman and Shapeshifter's unmoving bodies less than ten yards apart. He knew in that instant his suspicions had been correct. There _was_ an attacker. Somebody _had_ gotten to Chloe, and was now going after them one at a time. It had been a mistake to split up, but they had so little time there hadn't been much option. Was Neil behind this? He had to be. He had to know they were here. It was already too late to run any kind of distraction. Oculus already knew what was happening. Pyro and Magneto were not sneaking up on him unawares, as they thought. He was fully aware of their approach, and probably had plans in motion to deal with it.

_Damn it! Everything's going wrong! So much is happening in such a short time that we just can't deal with it! What the hell do we do now?_

His hand on his visor, he carefully scanned the area for whoever might have attacked his friends. He'd already checked, and they were not dead. Just unconscious. That was a good sign. Neil wasn't ready to kill them. He still saw some value in keeping them alive. Hopefully that meant there was still some way of getting to him, some way of making him understand. Cautiously, Scott moved on. There might be nothing else for it but to head back to 10 Downing Street himself, and lend whatever aid he could to Pyro and Magneto.

On the way, he stumbled over another body: Shock. She was unconscious but alive, like the others. Were any of the others still moving about? Was he the only one left? He made the decision, and began to hurry back to Number 10. His only option now seemed to be to confront Neil himself, if possible, and try to talk some sense into him. Whoever this attacker was, it wasn't Neil himself. Presumably it was somebody – or a whole lot of somebodies – he was psychically controlling.

In his haste, Scott was moving too fast to see the attack when it came. Something heavy struck him in the side of the head, knocking his visor away. Desperately he shut his eyes, and tried to duck away from where he guessed the next attack would come from. Blinded, his co-ordination wasn't too good. He was hit again, and this time knocked out cold.

Chloe Rosiçky flung aside the crowbar, and reached for her communicator, speaking quickly, "Neil? It's done. I'm on my way."


	25. Chapter Twenty Four: Revelation

The feeling of being followed was still there. Pyro had lost count of the number of times he had instinctively looked over his shoulder to make sure there was nobody coming up from behind. Was he imagining things? Was Oculus' psychic energy affecting him in some way, screwing with his perceptions? Pyro knew he wasn't _completely_ immune to psychic intrusion. Nobody other than Magneto had more knowledge and experience of mental defence, but still…he'd yet to really test himself against a full-blown onslaught from a telepath bent on dominating his mind.

He worried about Gemini. Where was she now? She and the others had gone to the ocean labs – which he'd been told was where the X-Men had just escaped from – but where was his daughter at this moment? Was she safe? Was she trying to make some sense out of this mess? Was Vertigo protecting her as Pyro had ordered him too? Was Cassandra safe? And Atlas? As much as Pyro tried to tell himself he didn't care about anyone except his daughter, he was finding it difficult to dismiss his instinctive concern for the welfare of his other students. He'd initially recruited them purely for their fighting ability, but had he, since adopting Gemini, found himself actually caring for them? They _were_ only children. Had he lost sight of that somewhere? Had he, in his fury, seen them only as weapons to use against the humans and the X-Men? Had he actually thought about them as the living, breathing people they were? No. He knew that hadn't even entered his mind. He'd only considered their potential as tools to carry out his plans. Well…was that so bad? Wasn't that what Magneto had done? Wasn't that why Magneto had recruited him in the first place?

Just as he began thinking about the metal master, Pyro realised he had lost him. In bewilderment he looked around. Where the hell had Magneto gone? They'd been in a straight corridor. There weren't any corners or junctions he could have disappeared down. Surely Pyro would have noticed if the other had suddenly moved away. Wouldn't he? Had he been totally immersed in worry about his child?

"Magneto?" he hissed. "Where the hell are you?"

There was no response. The entire building seemed shrouded in silence.

"Magneto, I haven't got time for stupid games! Where did you go?"

_Shit! Where is he? He must have gone on alone. He must have taken advantage of my distraction and left me behind. He obviously doesn't want to have anything to do with me. Does he see me as a failure? You know what? I don't give a shit. I couldn't care less what he thinks. Once I worshipped him as a hero. Now he's the man who stole my daughter away from her family and gave her over to be abused. What if Xavier was right about him all along? I never thought I'd ever say **that**…_

_I still need to find him though. There's no point going on alone and trying to confront Oculus. Magneto obviously has some plan for how he's going to overcome him. Has Oculus really gone crazy? I suppose he must have done, or he wouldn't be doing this. However, I can't help but think Magneto is lying to us about something? Is there some other reason he wants rid of Rosiçky, other than the one he gave? Is he really concerned for the welfare of mutant life? I'd like to believe so. I've spent half my life believing so. Has he changed? Or was I just viewing him in a different light when I was younger? Perhaps I didn't realise that he really will go to any lengths necessary to achieve his goals, even if it means giving Gemini over to…_

_No! There is absolutely no justification for what happened to my daughter! There never can be! I don't care **what** Magneto might say, I will never forgive him for what happened to my little girl!_ _Where is he? Once this is all over, I'm going to demand an explanation and I'm not going to rest until I get it!_

He heard the sound of somebody moving up ahead, just around the next corner. He guessed it was Magneto, and quickened his pace to catch up with his former leader. Maybe Magneto hadn't deliberately left him behind. Maybe he simply hadn't noticed that Pyro was lagging. As he turned the corner, and caught his first sight of the figure up ahead, Pyro suddenly realised he had absolutely no idea where Magneto had gotten to. Standing in front of him was Oculus.

* * *

Chloe Rosiçky ran as fast as she could towards her goal. There was only one threat left now. Pyro did not need to be taken into consideration. There was only one remaining threat, and he was heading straight for Neil.

* * *

The man known as Magneto was getting closer and closer to his target with every step. He felt the weight of the block of constantium inside his coat. He knew it was his only defence against telepathic attack. _I must say I'm impressed_, he thought to himself, _I never expected him to do anything like this. I suppose Charles must have taught him more than I thought. Ah, Charles. The only worthy adversary I ever truly had. My only real obstacle to success. I don't suppose there will ever be another like him…certainly not this one. You pretentious fool, Oculus. You aspire to power that is not yours to wield. Soon you will be back in your place.

* * *

_

Logan groaned as he came back to full consciousness, his head still pounding with the force of the blow that had knocked him out. He gritted his teeth, and within seconds his healing power had mended the bruising and quelled the pain. Back on his feet, he breathed in deeply. Chloe's scent was still fresh. Obviously he'd only been knocked out for a matter of minutes. He turned, and looked back the way he had come, back to the building where Pyro and his boss had gone to confront Oculus. Something told Logan he had to go that way. He didn't know what it was – instinct maybe – but somehow he knew that was where he had to go. He didn't have time to look for the rest of his friends. He began running.

* * *

Pyro had to admit, he hadn't been expecting Oculus to casually greet him with, "Hello, John, how are you?"

"Me? Never better," he responded sarcastically. "You? Your plans for world domination coming along OK?"

"Never mind that. Where is he?"

"Who are we talking about?"

"I think you know who we're talking about. You were walking by his side less than ten minutes ago."

"I lost him."

"No, you didn't. He lost you. And not by accident, either."

"What are you talking about?"

Oculus raised his eyebrows, "I don't think he wanted you to be present when he and I came face to face."

"Why not?"

"Because you might find out several things he'd rather keep secret."

"Such as?"

"His real name, for one thing."

"His real name?"

"He isn't Magneto, John."

Pyro blinked, "Is this bullshit? Or is this for real?"

"You'll have to judge for yourself. You've heard his side of the story. Now you can hear mine."

"He told us you were here to use your psychic powers to influence the vote on nuclear disarmament. He said it would start a chain reaction and destabilise trans-Atlantic relations. He said World War III would begin and you would be responsible."

"Did you believe him?"

"Are you denying it? He said you would keep on using your powers to change major world decisions, until you were effectively running the planet yourself. Do you have the power to do that?"

"I have the power, yes."

Pyro waited, but Oculus didn't say any more. Impatiently the fire-starter prompted, "So? Was he telling the truth? Aren't you going to deny it?"

"How can I deny what is in my heart?"

"So it's true? You're willing to start a Third World War just to get the decision you want on this UN vote?"

"Positive and negative aspects must always be weighed together. War between Europe and America is inevitable, don't you agree? I don't think anything I can do would change that."

"What happened to all that shit Xavier drummed into you over the years? Using your powers responsibly, for the good of humanity, all that crap?"

"I believe the Professor would have done the same thing in my position. Do you intend to oppose me?"

Pyro hesitated for a moment, "You know, a year ago I would have said 'what the hell' and I wouldn't have stood in your way. But now…all I care about is my daughter and the future you're threatening to take away from her. Anybody who endangers her safety is my enemy."

"Perhaps you would like to know the true identity of the man responsible for her two years of abuse."

"Are you offering to tell me?"

"I'm offering to show you. If you will let me."

"All right. I'm listening."

"Turn around."

"Why?"

"He's behind you."

Pyro looked round, at the very moment Magneto turned the corner and came face to face with the two younger men.

"It was you, wasn't it?" Pyro snapped. "You _are_ the one who gave my daughter to the researchers! I want an explanation and I want it now, dammit!"

"Hold your tongue, fool," Magneto said icily. "He's trying to turn you against me and towards himself. Please don't insult my tutelage by giving in to such an easy deception. Remember why we're here."

"Strange that you should talk of deception," said Oculus. "When surely you are the undisputed master of that particular art."

"You speak of yourself, not of me."

"Why else did you pretend to be dead for sixteen years?"

Pyro frowned, "Sixteen years? I think you mean four."

"He speaks not one word of truth," Magneto said. "_He_ is the one who hid himself away for sixteen years, away from Xavier's ability to read his thoughts."

"No," said Oculus. "I am not the one who was so terrified of Xavier that I had to fake my own death in order to disappear from him."

"What are you _talking_ about?" Pyro retorted. "Xavier died _before_ Magneto disappeared!"

"This man isn't Magneto, John."

"Then who is he, dammit?"

"Do not listen," said Magneto angrily. "His words serve only to make you receptive in order for his telepathy to enter your brain. You must resist."

Pyro shook his head, "I don't feel any telepathic presence in my mind."

"That's because he's getting through your defences, fool! Concentrate harder!"

"Ask him a question," Oculus suggested. "Go on, try it. Ask something only Magneto would know."

"All right. What was it like inside Stryker's plastic prison?"

"No good," said Oculus. "This man worked with Stryker. He'll know that anyway."

"How did Sabretooth and Toad die?"

Oculus nodded, "Good."

Magneto glared at the pair of them, "I have neither the time nor the patience for this childish nonsense. Pyro, leave us. I will finish him myself."

"I'll leave. Once you answer my question."

"I don't know the answer. I never saw them die. I was otherwise engaged at the time."

Pyro looked at Oculus, who shrugged, "That could be true. Try another."

"OK," said Pyro, turning to the old man. "When I first met you, you said something to me. Something I've never forgotten. Can you tell me what it was?"

"You cannot expect me to remember something I may or may not have said over fifteen years ago. Do not presume to think that a conversation with you merited enough worth to have lodged in my memory."

"Well, I know what it was," said Neil. "He said you were 'a god among insects'."

"How do you know that? You weren't even there."

Oculus smiled, "If you still don't believe me, watch this."

He opened his hand to reveal a tiny piece of metal. With a mere flick of his eyes, he used his telekinetic power to launch it through the air towards Magneto. Pyro watched as the old man, taken by surprise, raised his hand to block the attack. He expected the metal shard to stop dead in mid-air under Magneto's power. On the contrary, it did not stop, and impaled his palm, leaving behind a tiny pinprick of blood. Pyro's eyes widened in disbelief, and at last he was convinced.

"You're not Magneto! Who the hell are you?"

Oculus revealed the truth at last, "He's a sixty-one year old geneticist from the Czech Republic. His name is Davor Rosiçky."

It was as if a mask had been dropped from the older man's face. His expression and poise had changed, his English accent fading to be replaced by his natural Czech inflections.

"That is a name I haven't gone by in many years," he sneered at the younger men.

"Davor Rosiçky…" Pyro said slowly. "I've heard that name before…wait a minute…this guy's your father, right?"

"Yes."

"I thought he was dead. I thought Gaia said he was dead."

"Indeed. So we all thought."

"What happened?"

However, Davor Rosiçky was not prepared to remain and hear any more. Moving with a speed that surprised both of them, he kicked Pyro to one side and advanced on his son. Reaching into his coat he removed the constantium block he'd been waiting for the right moment to use. He already knew it had a total nullifying effect on mutant telepathy. He knew it would confuse and befuddle his son's mind to such an extent that he could be easily killed. He had already seen it totally incapacitate those two younger telepaths.

But Oculus did not even flinch from the metal. Davor snarled with anger and stepped closer, practically forcing the constantium into his son's face, enjoying the anticipation of seeing the young man falling to his knees and blacking out from its mind-dampening power. Still his progeny refused to buckle, merely smiling and raising a hand to push Davor away. Pyro was on his feet, angry, and advancing towards the Czech.

"No! He's too dangerous," said Neil, gently laying his hand on Pyro's shoulder.

"What trickery is this?" Davor demanded. "This is pure constantium! This should nullify your telepathy from a distance of ten feet!"

Oculus smirked, "Well, perhaps I lied. Perhaps you're not the master of deception. Perhaps that would be…"

In an instant his features melted as he morphed into the blue figure of Mystique.

"…me," she finished.

Too stunned to respond, Pyro turned to look at Davor. The old man's face was a horrified mixture of shock, anger, fear…and perhaps a little admiration as well. In the moment of indecision that followed, he took his chance, turned and ran. Pyro was about to give chase, but Mystique stopped him, "Patience, Pyro. He won't get far."

He faced her, "How did you _do_ that? You used Oculus' powers! Where is he? He's here somewhere, right?"

"Yes. We knew Davor would try to use constantium to block Oculus' mind. We knew I wouldn't be affected by it."

"Why are you working together? I thought you'd be working alone."

"I'll let Oculus explain. Here he comes now."

Neil appeared from the opposite direction to which Davor had just taken. Mystique nodded to him, the barest of greetings, then hurried in pursuit of the researcher.

"Oculus?" said Pyro uncertainly. "Are you really you this time? Or has Mystique had a child and trained her to use the same power?"

"No, I'm me."

"And can I trust you? All that stuff that you – that Mystique – just said? About World War III and the UN vote? What was that all about?"

"Desperate measures were called for. I had to attract Davor's attention and force him to react to me. I had to pose a threat so huge and so immediate that he would have no choice but to face me directly."

"So it was all a lie? A deception? You're not really trying to using your psychic control over people?"

"It wasn't a total lie. I was seriously considering it. But I think my better judgement convinced me otherwise."

"Well, I'm sure glad to hear that," Pyro said sarcastically. "But I still don't get what Mag – Rosiçky – is trying to do. What's all his deception in aid of? Why's he posing as Magneto?"

"I don't know that yet," Oculus admitted. "Hopefully we can find something at the ocean labs."

"That's where my daughter is, and her friends."

"I know. If I'm not mistaken, that's where Davor is also heading."

Pyro's eyes widened, "_What_! Then why the hell are we just standing here? We've gotta stop him! We've gotta intercept him before he can get anywhere near my daughter!"

"I don't think he will get that far."

"You mean – Cyclops and the others will stop him, huh?"

"Um…I'm afraid not. This is going to take some explaining. I'm still trying to work out what powers my father has, but it's clear he has some form of mental domination."

"Telepathy?"

"No, I think it's slightly different from that. It seems clear that he met up with you and the rest of the X-Men and brought you here with one intention in mind: controlling you and using you to destroy me, before I could unmask him."

"But they're right outside! If he goes out there, are you saying they'll be under his control?"

"No, they won't. Chloe's dealt with that problem. She'll be trying to hunt him down."

"Won't he try to kill her?"

"I expect so, but she can look after herself. There is a zoo close to here, and she has doubtlessly paid it a visit by now."

"I see. That's why you kept him talking just now? But what if he tries to control her mind?"

"It's a risk. But I don't think his power – whatever it is – will work on animals, so he'll probably try to stay away from her."

"But if he gets to the jet, he'll be able to fly straight to the ocean labs! We couldn't possibly out-run him!"

"Don't worry about the jet. He can't use it. I had it put out of commission."

"Oh. You thought of everything, huh?"

"I hope so. We can use it ourselves, if we hurry. Let's go."

* * *

"He'll be coming out in a moment. You'll smell him before you see him."

A low growl was the only response. Chloe Rosiçky patted the neck of the enormous Siberian tiger that stood protectively in front of her. It had been the work of a few minutes to run through the deserted streets to the zoo, and free the animal. Neil had warned her not to get close to her father-in-law. The tiger would be safe from his powers of persuasion, and it should be able to knock him out. Killing Davor was an option, but it wasn't one either of them wanted to take. For one thing, they didn't believe in killing. For another thing, they still had to make sure their children were safe. Davor might well be the only person who knew where Annie and Gary were.

The tiger stirred, sniffing at the air, and nudged its head against Chloe to grab her attention.

"What is it? Can you smell him?"

She listened to the series of grunts and growls that the creature gave by way of reply, and instinctively knew what it meant.

"OK. Go."

The tiger sprang away, bounding across the open ground towards the door where she expected Davor Rosiçky to come running. Chloe stood in the shadow of the building across the street and watched its progress. A sound, just on the periphery of her hearing, caught her attention. It had come from behind her. She glanced over her shoulder. It was him! He was there! Davor was advancing towards her, and she had no idea what sort of powers he might be about to attack her with.

"Over here! Help me!" she yelled to the tiger.

The beast turned, surprised, but nevertheless hurried back over the street towards her. It looked at her almost quizzically, as if to ask what it should do next.

"Attack him! Knock him out!" she cried, pointing at Davor. "There, he's right there!"

But the tiger didn't move.

* * *

Mystique watched from the shadows, her eyebrows knotted in confusion. What had gotten Gaia so worried? She was obviously reacting to something, but Mystique couldn't see anything there. The tiger Gaia had summoned seemed equally confused, unable to tell what it was the woman wanted.

Mystique frowned. Where was Davor, Oculus' father? She'd been tracking him through the interior of 10 Downing Street, and she couldn't explain how she had suddenly lost him. There probably wasn't anyone in the world who was a better tracker than she. Where had he disappeared to? Did he have some power of invisibility? No. That couldn't be it. Even an invisible person would leave traces that could be followed by one who had sufficient knowledge and experience. She thought about calling to Oculus and asking him to do a telepathic sweep of the area. But no…that wasn't necessary. She had no particular desire to admit failure to someone she didn't particularly enjoy working with. He was an X-Man, or had been once, maybe still was. She was only allied with him just now through sheer necessity.

When she had first discovered the man who was masquerading as Magneto, she had decided to pursue the matter alone. She'd followed him and watched him, every opportunity she got, determined to find out whatever she could about what he was doing, and why he was stealing the identity of her mentor and idol. She'd spied on the X-Men too, to see if they knew anything about it. But they turned out to be just as baffled as she was. To her disgust she'd found that Pyro had, as she'd expected, meekly surrendered to the Brotherhood's enemies, and joined their ranks. So furious was she, that she'd seriously considered cutting off all links with him and pretending he had never existed. However, she was more concerned with solving the mystery of the faux Magneto, so she put Pyro on the back burner for the foreseeable future. She had to find out who this man was, and she knew the X-Men were following the same lines.

However, perhaps unsurprisingly, the X-Men had assumed that the man really was Magneto. Original thought and the ability to see deception clearly weren't among their most prominent skills. Frustrated at their stupidity, Mystique had decided she ought to clue them in. So she had set up a meeting with Gemini, and Pyro, and asked them to pass on the truth. She knew Magneto was dead. She'd been there. Whether they had passed on the message, and whether they'd been believed, she didn't know. She wasn't prepared to go to any more trouble to inform those who were still her enemies.

She couldn't be sure exactly when the realisation had finally struck. She must have been following the impostor for some weeks, when she realised he reminded her of somebody. Mystique could tell a lot about a person from their posture, poise and mannerisms. It had taken some time, but she had come to be convinced that the impostor was related to somebody she had once known. Many of these things were genetic, so she assumed the man was either the father, brother or son of one of her previous enemies or associates. She had gone back to the X-Men's school and watched them for a further period of time, guessing that it had to be one of them who was the charlatan's relative.

Immediately she had spotted the same posture and the same mannerisms in the boy Gladiator and the girl Crusader. Spying on them while avoiding their psychic powers hadn't been easy, but she reached her conclusion soon enough: the impostor posing as Magneto was somehow related to the Rosiçky family. Oculus, the teens' father, spent little time outside the mansion, but she managed to get a close look at him on one or two occasions, and she spotted the same characteristics. That confirmed her suspicions beyond all doubt, but it didn't really answer any of her questions. She wasn't aware of any relatives that Oculus had. As far as she knew, he'd been an only child, and his antecedents were all dead.

It was then that Mystique made the difficult decision. She decided she had to speak to Oculus. It was the only way to find out about his family. She didn't know what the impostor was planning to do, but whatever it was seemed to be picking up speed, and she knew she had to act fast before he did something regrettable and Magneto's name was forever tarnished. She'd contacted Neil Rosiçky, and the two of them had met for the first time in almost twenty years. Within minutes they had reached the conclusion: the impostor was Neil's father, the corrupted genius Davor Rosiçky. Not that this made any sense. It only added to their list of questions. Davor was dead. Neil had killed him personally, using his mind powers to fling the man into the whirring blades of a helicopter. There was no way he could have survived, and yet he had. As hard as they tried to make sense of it, no explanations were forthcoming. It made no sense, but they couldn't deny the evidence. They'd decided the only option was to move against Davor, and hope that they could somehow find out the answers they needed. Mystique had agreed to pose as Neil, to draw Davor's attention, while Neil tried to probe his father's mind a safe distance from the constantium and its telepathic inhibiting. But Davor had run, and she wasn't sure what Neil might have learned…

She continued to watch Gaia up ahead, fighting against an enemy Mystique couldn't see. Maybe he _was_ invisible. Or maybe he was a teleporter or a levitator…that would explain why he wasn't leaving any tracks. Oculus had also surmised that Davor must have some form of mental manipulation…that he must have used on the X-Men to bring them here. Why else would they have so readily co-operated with a man they thought was Magneto?

There he was! She could see him now. Davor, crouching in the shadows, was making his way around the position where Gaia and the very confused and frustrated tiger were still battling thin air. Mystique tried to make sense of it. Obviously Davor was interfering with Gaia's mind in some way, making her think he was one place when he was another. Strange though…as far as Mystique knew, Gaia was fully trained by Oculus to repel psychic control. Perhaps she had been taken by surprise…whatever, it didn't really matter. Mystique rose, and prepared to hurry after the fleeing impostor.

So intent on her prey was she, that she was taken completely by surprise when a hand grabbed her arm, twisted it behind her, and shoved her up against the wall.

"Well, well, isn't this place just full of surprises," Wolverine snarled into her ear.

* * *

"Hey," said Atlas, shaking Vertigo. "Something's happening."

Vertigo, who had idly been surveying a not unattractive female dock worker, looked over.

"The submarine," Atlas pointed.

The two boys had found a suitable vantage point at the ocean lab's harbour, where they could hide and survey the area where the submarine was berthed. They knew it had to be integral to Magneto's plan. It was smaller than they might have expected, certainly not large enough to carry a full crew or a full weapons complement. What was Magneto planning to use it for? Atlas had suggested it might be some kind of personal escape vessel, in case everything went wrong and he needed to flee. Vertigo had shrugged noncommittally.

The submarine was moving now, free from its moorings, moving out towards the sea. As they watched, it began to submerge, and promptly disappeared beneath the surface.

"I don't get it," said Atlas. "Who's navigating that thing? I didn't see anyone get on board, did you?"

"No. I guess Magneto can control it remotely."

"Yeah, I guess. Well, it's gone. What do we do now?

"We should find Cassie and Gemini, and see if they need our help. Why didn't you pick up one of the communicators before we split up?"

"There only were two," Atlas said defensively. "Helios' and Aqua's."

"What a drag. OK, let's go."

* * *

"But I don't _understand_!" Gemini was saying. "Who _is_ Davor Rosiçky?"

"I – I told you," said Aqua. "He was a researcher who worked with Stryker and Van Gaarde and M – Magneto back before we were born."

"Yeah, I know that. But who _is_ he?"

Cassandra frowned, "Rosiçky…that's Crusader's human surname, isn't it? He must be related to her – right?"

Dominic shrugged, "I've never heard his name before. As far as I know, Annie and Gary have no relatives other than Neil and Chloe. Marina, did Gary ever mention the name to you before?"

"N – no."

"How did Rosiçky die?" Gemini asked.

"Um…it – it didn't say. It didn't say anything about him at all, really, just that he – that he died years ago, at the same time as Stryker."

"So maybe he's not important. Maybe he's just a guy Magneto used for his own ends."

"I think we should get back to the computer room," said Dominic. "Find out more about this guy. I've been saying all along there's much more to this than meets the eye. We're still only scratching the surface."

"Wait a minute, shouldn't we stay here and try to work out how this guy died, the one who attacked you?"

"I don't think we should stay here. Something tells me it isn't safe."

Suddenly Cassandra gasped. She stumbled, lost her balance, and Dominic reacted quickly to catch her in his arms. Shaking and trembling, her eyes wide and her breathing ragged, she clutched him while she tried to regain her footing.

"What is it?" Gemini asked her, concern in her voice.

"I just had a fore-flash!"

"What was it? What's going to happen?"

Cassandra looked at her friend, and gasped, "We're gonna die."


	26. Chapter TwentyFive:The Great Illusionist

Mystique remained deceptively docile under Logan's grip. She relaxed her muscles, hoping he would subconsciously relax his, and give her the chance to break free.

"You idiot," she hissed to him. "You grabbed the wrong person! He's already gone, that way!"

"Who? Magneto?"

"He's not Magneto! He's an impostor!"

Mystique twisted round to see more figures in black hurrying on to the scene. Shit. The rest of the X-Men were here. Obviously Gaia hadn't hit them hard enough to keep them out of it. Logan tried to tighten his hold on her, but she'd been expecting it, and she leapt, pushing away from the wall with both feet, throwing herself and Logan backwards until they landed on the ground, Mystique on top. Before he could extend his claws, she drove her fist into his throat, leaving him desperately choking and gagging for air, instinctively curling into a ball on the ground. A little more power behind the punch would have shattered his windpipe and killed him instantly, but she had no desire to do that. Rising to her feet instantly, she had less than two seconds to avoid the next attack. Cyclops crouched, firing a ruby red optic beam towards her.

Rolling to the side, Mystique morphed, taking on the appearance of Cyclops himself. Hopefully it would confuse them, and the black uniform would help her blend into the dark night. A burst of frost from Iceman's fingertips came hissing through the air towards her, but she avoided it and began running in the direction Davor had taken. She didn't have time to fool around with these idiots. She had to get after the impostor before he did anything further to bring shame to Magneto's memory.

Cyclops turned as she went, and fired another optic blast. Strange as it seemed to be attacking his own fleeing figure, he was now well used to Mystique's trickery. She was clearly not hanging around to finish the battle. Was she running in fear? It didn't seem like her to run at the first sign of danger. Odd.

"Scott?" came a confused voice.

Chloe approached, her hands touching her head in confusion, "I don't understand what just happened, I – "

"Don't come any closer," he snapped.

Still holding his throat, Logan stepped forward and said hoarsely, "She's the one who did it, Cyclops. She's the one who knocked us out. I would have smelled anyone else if it was them."

Chloe shook her head quickly, "No, you don't understand! I had to do it, you see– "

"I said: don't come any closer," Scott commanded, his hand on his visor. "Where's Oculus?"

"He's inside. That doesn't matter! Davor is the one we want!"

"Who?"

"Don't listen to her!" Logan said. "She's in it with him! She is his wife, after all!"

"No, just let me explain!" Chloe cried.

She took another step towards them, but Scott's suspicions and uncertainty had got the better of him. Whatever Oculus was planning to do, Gaia was clearly part of it too. They couldn't allow her to stall them while Oculus exerted even more psychic control over the city. War could be imminent. Lives could depend on their actions. Scott pushed his doubts aside and fired.

The optic blast hit Chloe square in the chest, throwing her backwards on to the ground. Howling with pain, she tried to get to her feet to run away. Logan was already hurrying forward to grab her. Before he could get there, however, there was a flash of orange as an enormous Siberian tiger leapt from the shadows to stand protectively in front of the fallen Gaia. The beast roared angrily, fur standing on end and claws out, advancing towards Logan. The furious X-Man extended his own claws, and gave a feral growl. The tiger stopped, surprised and worried by something it had never encountered before.

"Go! Don't stay! You'll get hurt!" Chloe called desperately.

Even as the tiger fled from the scene, she was still struggling to crawl to safety, forcing herself to ignore the pain in her chest and keep going. Logan grabbed her arm and hauled her upright.

"What the _hell_ is going on?" he demanded. "What is your bastard of a husband doing? Where is he?"

"It's not him! It's Davor!"

He tightened his grip on her shoulder, "So you keep saying, but I don't know who you're talking about! I'm talking about Oculus and the world war he's about to start! Now where the _hell_ is he?"

"It doesn't matter! Listen! Davor Rosiçky is Neil's father! He's posing as Magneto to hide his own identity and to make it easier to get what he wants! We had to find some way to make him confront us!"

The rest were beginning to cluster round.

"I don't believe you, Chloe," Fliss spat. "What do you think you're playing at? You can't go along with Neil's crazy ideas! It's not going to benefit anybody! It'll start a war!"

Chloe snapped, "I know! He isn't _trying_ to start any war! It was all a deception to lure Davor towards him! You're just letting Davor get away!"

"What – it wasn't for real?"

"Of _course_ it wasn't for real! Neil doesn't have the power to control the whole of London! And the Cerebro parts he's taken aren't enough to recreate the power of the whole machine!"

Some of the X-Men looked at each other. But Scott shook his head, "No, wait a minute. That can't be true. If he's not controlling the city, where is everybody? Why are the streets so empty?

"Yeah," said Iceman. "And we heard that newsflash too, didn't we? The Prime Minister made an announcement that he was voting in favour of the nuclear treaty, and disbanding the armed forces. That was Oculus behind that! It had to be! You're lying!"

"I'm not _lying_!" she screamed. "It's a deception to fool Davor! The city is deserted because we faked an alert of an incoming nuclear missile! Everybody has fled out of London or to the nuclear bunkers beneath! _That's_ why the city is empty! We faked up the news report as well! It was to draw Davor here, to make sure he had to react to us!"

Logan released his grip on her arm. Rubbing her shoulder, she glared at him, "I've been your friend for years and you didn't trust me?"

"Don't blame them, Chloe," came a voice from one side. "We've all been fooled by my father."

They turned in surprise. Neil Rosiçky stood a few yards away, with Pyro alongside. The X-Men weren't sure how to react. Logan's claws stayed out. Scott's hand rose to his visor once more, "Can we trust you? Are you our friend or our enemy?"

"Scott, I've been your student and then your friend since I was a boy. Nothing's going to change that in the space of a few days. I'm sorry for the deception – I genuinely do apologise – but it was necessary."

"But the nuclear treaty," said Iceman. "You've been talking about that for the last few days. You haven't been meddling with people's minds to try and influence the decision, have you?"

"Of course not. I don't have the power. It isn't just as simple as controlling the Prime Minister's brain and getting him to make the decision I want. He still has to justify it with his advisors and his fellow ministers before it becomes official. And believe it or not, the humans do have methods of psychoanalysing, to tell whether a person is acting under their own volition or by telepathic control. They know there are telepaths in the world who might try to influence government leaders. They've taken measures to deal with it."

"So how has your father gotten away with it? He's manipulating some pretty high-level figures, isn't he?"

"Yes. I don't know how he's doing it. I don't think he's a telepath. I think he has some other persuasive power, but as yet I haven't been able to fathom what it might be."

"He was using it on us, wasn't he?" Scott realised. "On the way over here. He was convincing us of everything he said. I didn't notice it at the time, but looking back…we can all see it, right? We never questioned him…never asked him to back up what he was saying…never disbelieved him…"

"I did," Pyro argued. "Neil, are you saying Magneto had nothing to do with what happened to my daughter? This Davor was the one who had her taken?"

"Correct. I think Davor knew her mother; she was one of his research colleagues. He, well, he has a long history of using children – his own and other people's – as part of his experiments. He took Alexandra, used her, abused her, and then…the real Magneto found out about her. We still don't know how. He sent you to get her out."

Pyro breathed a sigh of relief, "So Magneto really was the man I thought he was. He had nothing to do with my daughter's abuse. He isn't a liar and a hypocrite."

"Yes he is," Logan muttered under his breath.

Rogue frowned, "But…why did he pretend to be Magneto in the first place? Who was he trying to fool?"

"I don't know that either," Neil admitted. "But I think I do know where we'll find the answers."

"Where?"

"The ocean labs. Where our teenage students are just now. Where Davor is heading. Where the heart of his operation lies."

Scott nodded, "Then let's not waste any time."

* * *

"Sir, sensors report an unidentified vessel ahead." 

The captain of the US navy nuclear submarine looked over, "Another sub?"

"Yes sir."

"Distance."

"Four hundred yards and closing. Closing _fast_. Recommend evasive, sir."

"Do it, Lieutenant. Prepare torpedoes. Try to open communications."

"You think it's the French, sir? A pre-emptive strike?"

The captain merely said, "Keep me informed, Lieutenant."

The communications officer spoke into the microphone, "Attention, unidentified submarine. You are in United States waters and we do not recognise your profile. Your course suggests hostile intent. Identify yourselves immediately or we will treat you as hostile."

There was no response. He tried again, "I repeat, identify yourselves or we will treat you as a hostile vessel. You are in United States waters. Your present course suggests hostile intent. We have full jurisdiction to defend ourselves."

The navigation officer exclaimed, "Sir, distance is two hundred yards and still closing fast! We're not going to manoeuvre wide in time, sir!"

The captain grabbed the microphone, "You are on a direct collision course with us! Alter your course _now_ or we will open fire! This is your last warning!"

No response.

"Sir, they aren't slowing or altering course!"

"What the hell do they think they're doing? They'll kill themselves and us! We have no choice. Open fire. All torpedoes!"

The weapons officer sent the order down to the torpedo rooms, "Fire all torpedoes! Target oncoming vessel!"

"Captain confirms."

The captain forced himself to remain calm and impassive in front of his men. In reality he was thinking furiously. Who did this mysterious vessel belong to? Clearly it wasn't another American sub. Was it an enemy spy vessel? The US had a long list of potential enemies to choose from. The French, the Germans, the Russians and the Chinese were probably the only ones bold enough to try something like this.

Or could it be non-military? There were some criminal organisations rich and powerful enough to own their own submarines for smuggling purposes. No…that couldn't be right. Smugglers would certainly not be out in the open waters off the Florida coast. He walked to the communications officer and spoke in a low voice, "Lieutenant, prepare a communication to send to shore. Tell them we encountered an unknown submarine with presumed hostile intent, and took offensive action when there was no alternative. Recommend a full sweep of the area for further enemy vessels."

"Yes sir."

The captain turned to the weapons officer, "What's the status of the other vessel?"

"No damage, sir!"

"Say again?"

"All torpedoes hit, sir, but other vessel has taken no damage?"

"Their course?"

"Unchanged! Still collision course, sir!" said the navigation officer.

"The next barrage will take them, sir," said the weapons officer confidently.

The men waited and watched as the second round of torpedoes was launched towards the oncoming enemy vessel.

"Report!" the captain commanded.

"I don't believe it, sir, still no damage!"

"Course unchanged, sir! Fifty yards and closing!"

"Third barrage won't be ready in time!"

"They're going to hit, sir!"

"Brace for impact!" the captain yelled. "Send emergency distress signal!"

But the communications officer had no time to send the emergency distress signal. The very next moment, the nose of Davor Rosiçky's constantium-hulled submarine cut through the American vessel like a laser through butter. The in-rushing water killed every man on board, and the ruined vessel began to sink towards the ocean floor. The constantium submarine continued on its way as if there had never been another craft.

* * *

"Cassie! What is it? What did you see?" 

Cassie grabbed at her friends and pushed them in the direction that would take them to the elevator, "I don't have time to explain! Just _run_!"

Gemini was used to reacting without thinking when Cassandra gave her a warning. She began running. It took Dominic and Marina a couple of seconds extra to reach the same conclusion, then they began running too. Cassandra was right behind them. They reached the fork up ahead. Going to the right would take them to the elevator. Going to the left would take them…Marina glanced that way. Surprise crossed her face when she recognised the figure who was running towards them.

"Hey, it's all right!" she exclaimed. "It's – it's Annie!"

"No, it's not!" Cassie yelled, grabbing her shoulders and bodily forcing her away from Crusader. "She's going to kill us! Magneto's controlling her mind or something! _Come on_!"

Marina hesitated for a second, and that pause was fatal. Annie Rosiçky's hand shot out, and her telekinetic power gripped the aquanoid and the foreseer, lifting both of them from the floor. Helplessly they beat at the air, unable to get any purchase on anything to escape.

"_Annie, what are you doing_!" Marina screamed.

But Annie didn't respond. There were no outward signs that she was being controlled. Her movements were normal, her eyes no different, all of her little mannerisms still present. But there was no doubt somebody was manipulating her. Either that or she had lost her mind.

"Cassie!" Dominic yelled, looking back to see his friends' predicament.

"Run! Get out of here!" she screamed back at him. "No! Helios, _no_! Don't come back for me! _Get out of here_!"

But he wasn't listening. He'd rushed back to her side, and began pulling her down towards the floor so she could run to safety. So intent was he on rescuing his girl that he didn't notice his own body lifting from the floor until it was too late. Annie's power had grabbed him also, and levitated him into the air. Gemini, at the door of the elevator, looked back in terror at her three helpless friends.

"RUN!" Cassandra screamed at her.

Gemini was caught in indecision. The elevator door in front of her slid silently open. She didn't notice the person inside until it was too late. Gary Rosiçky's hand grabbed her around the throat and lifted her off her feet. She struggled and kicked, but there was no way of breaking that iron grip of his.

"What are you _doing_?" Marina shrieked. "Let go of her! _Have you gone crazy_!"

He didn't say anything. He didn't seem to be aware she'd spoken.

_This can't be happening_! thought Marina's panicked mind, _this is impossible! Magneto can't be controlling their minds! They're too powerful for that! What's happened to them? Why are they trying to kill us?_

"Let them go!" Helios was demanding. "Let the girls go! I'll stay!"

He didn't really know why he'd said that. He wasn't expecting it to be agreed to. It had just seemed like the thing to say. He thought about shining blinding light at Annie – he knew it would hurt her sensitive eyes – but then he remembered he had already used all of his solar power on the way in here. _Damn it, if only we'd taken a different route, I wouldn't have had to waste my stored light getting us through that tunnel_!

Angrily Gemini swung at Gladiator, trying to kick him between the legs, but she hadn't the strength or co-ordination to do it. Her entire body weight, slight though it was, was now hanging from where he gripped her around the throat. It had been uncomfortable to start with, now it was getting extremely painful. She tried to take some of the weight away by holding on to him tightly with her arms. It didn't seem to make much difference. She knew she'd pass out soon.

Cassandra hung helplessly in mid-air. There was nothing she could do to help the situation, and she knew it. Her fore-warning had not been sufficient to preserve them from this danger. She didn't know exactly what was going to happen now. She could only assume they were going to be killed. If their friends had been turned against them somehow by their enemies, that seemed like a logical conclusion. She reached for Dominic and managed to grab his hand. If she was going to die now, she wanted at least to have the opportunity to express her feelings for him.

Marina knew there was only one thing she could do, and she knew she had to do it quickly, before either of the enslaved Rosiçkys did something terrible. She ceased her futile attempts to escape. She closed her eyes, breathed in deeply, tightened her muscles, and concentrated. At first there was nothing. Then she could begin to feel it. Through the reinforced walls and ceilings, she could feel its presence and its power.

Water.

Mastery over the Earth's commonest substance flowed within her veins. Gasping with the effort and straining every sinew and fibre, she pushed her power to a level she had never known before, summoning the entire might of the Atlantic ocean to pound the cliffs, shatter the rocks, break through these walls, and to come to her side. She almost lost consciousness through the effort, but she managed to keep it together, and with a shriek that rang from one of the corridor to the other, she performed the miracle.

The lower level of the ocean labs disintegrated in seconds as water with the force of a blastwave pulverised the cliff-face, ripping through rock and reinforced concrete as if it were paper. Doors, walls, furniture, machinery, everything in its path was smashed until it reached Marina. By the time Annie and Gary had realised what was happening, it was already too late. The corridor was flooded and Marina was now the supreme being. Easily breaking free from the telepathic lock, she grabbed the terrified aquaphobic Cassandra and pointed her towards the lift shaft, that would take her up out of the water. Dominic was already heading that way. Like a torpedo Marina shot over towards Gemini, and with the merest of effort pulled her free of Gary's grip. Her bewitched boyfriend struggled clumsily underwater, but he was swimming towards the elevator and pulling Cassandra away from it. Marina forced the water around him to flow towards her, and he was dragged away from the foreseer.

But now Annie was approaching, swimming much more easily than her brother, also heading for the lift shaft. Cassandra and Gemini had already ascended it to safety, Dominic helping them up before climbing out of the water himself. They were safe. Marina needed only to worry about herself now. Annie and Gary would not drown. She could be sure of that. They could hold their breath for a little while longer. All she had to do was stall them long enough for her friends to get far enough away. She herself could stay down here forever. Breathing easily through her gills, she swam over to the lift shaft, blocking it, preventing them from getting through to where they might hurt the others.

But she hadn't taken one thing into account. A human being can hold his or her breath for about a minute underwater. Trained divers can manage two or three minutes. But only a human being with sufficient warning can actually inhale enough air to last a full minute. Annie and Gary had not had any warning, and their lungs were already empty. They were already swimming desperately towards the lift. Marina was horrified by her sudden dilemma. She couldn't let them out of the water or they might kill the others. She couldn't keep them in the water or they would drown. _What do I do? What do I do?_

Annie was the first to go. With her smaller body and smaller lung capacity, she was already beginning to convulse and hyperventilate. Within moments, Gary was doing the same. Marina made up her mind. She had to take the risk. These were her friends. It didn't matter if they were being controlled by Magneto. These were her future husband and sister-in-law. Grabbing both of them, she swam effortlessly over to the shaft. Pulling them out of the water, she laid them down on the floor of the level above. As she climbed out of the water she instantly felt the nervousness and helplessness that came whenever she left her natural environment – the water – for the one she was manifestly not suited for – the surface.

Brother and sister gasped hungrily at the sweet, life-giving air. Breathing hard, both of them curled reflexively into a ball while their bodies concentrated on only one thing: taking in enough oxygen to remain alive. Gary was still instinctively holding on to Marina, and his grip tightened slightly as his strength began to return.

"Marina?" he panted weakly.

Cradling his head in her lap, she smiled down at him, "H – hey. You're back."

His eyes opened and he focused on hers, "Where was I? I mean, where am I?

"We're in the ocean labs. Can you stand?"

"Ocean labs? What are you talking about? The last thing I remember is blacking out in McKenzie's study. How much has happened since then?"

"Um, quite a – quite a lot. I don't have time to explain. It'll be quicker if – if you just read my mind."

He did so. At that moment there was a low groan as Annie came around. Struggling into a sitting position, she began looking round. Eventually her eyes lit on her brother and his girlfriend.

"Marina?" she said. "I don't understand…where are we? I don't remember coming here."

"You – you were knocked out, r – remember? And M – M – Magneto has – has been controlling your mind."

"Magneto…" said Annie slowly. "No…it isn't Magneto. I don't know who he really is, but…I remember coming face to face with him at one point. I think it might have been just before he started, as you say, controlling our minds."

Marina frowned, "I don't get it. Aren't you too powerful to be – to be psychically controlled?"

"I guess not. Where is everybody else?"

"Uh, Dominic and the rest are – are here. We think the other X-Men were being held here too, but they managed to escape. A – Annie – can you make any sense out of what's going on? Read my mind to find out e – everything we've learned."

A few moments later Annie was up to speed.

"Let's call Scott and the others," she decided. "And tell them what's happened. I'm worried about this mind control. Maybe they can shed some light on to who our enemy really is, and how he's able to manipulate us."

* * *

Shapeshifter was manning the jet's communications panel when one of the displays began warning him of an incoming call. 

"Who is it?" said Scott

"It's one of our hand-held communicators. It must be Marina, or Dominic. Hold on, I'll put it on speaker."

He hit a couple of switches, then said, "We're receiving you loud and clear. Who's calling?"

"It's Annie."

Neil and Chloe both breathed a sigh of relief. Their daughter was safe.

"Annie?" said Chris. "Where's Marina? Is she OK?"

"Yeah. She's fine. Where are you guys?"

"Headed for the ocean labs, in pursuit of the impostor."

"The fake Magneto?"

"Yes. Where are you at the moment?"

"We're at the ocean labs too. Listen, we need to ask you something."

Pyro had pushed Shapeshifter aside to speak into the microphone, "Crusader – is Gemini with you?"

"Yeah, she's here. Don't worry, she's not hurt. Can I talk to my dad?"

Neil stepped forward, and Pyro relinquished the mike to him.

"Annie, I'm here."

"Dad. It's good to hear your voice. Listen, I need to ask you something. This impostor, whoever he is, was controlling both me and Gary. I don't remember what happened during that time, but Gemini's just told me we were trying to kill them. We were trying to kill our friends! I don't understand how we could have been manipulated that way. It would take a telepath as strong as the Professor to do that to me."

"Understood, Annie. I don't think it is telepathy. I think it's something else, something that none of us are immune to."

"Like what?"

"I don't know for sure…yet. Listen, Annie, there's something I need to tell you. We know the impostor's real identity."

"Uh-huh. Who is he?"

"His name is Davor Rosiçky. He is…your grandfather."

"My what? I don't have any. You said they were both dead."

"Yes. I was wrong. My father deceived me – deceived everybody – into thinking he was dead."

"Are you saying _he's_ the one? My own granddad? He's the one posing as Magneto and trying to control our minds?"

"Yes. It isn't easy to take, Annie, I know. It isn't easy for me either, but I had to tell you."

"Hold on, Marina wants to talk to you."

There was a pause as the communicator evidently switched hands, then Marina's voice filled the jet's interior, "H – hi, it's me. I've been hacking into the computers here and trying to find out what I can. It looks as if this Davor Rosiçky was working with two other men. One is – is Van Gaarde, who we know about – "

Pyro's hands tightened into fists and he muttered something under his breath.

" – the other is a man called William Stryker. D – Dominic says you guys have had dealings with him before. Is that right?"

"We know Stryker all right," Logan muttered.

"I thought maybe he might have s – some bearing on this. I think one of the files I read said he did some work in t – telepathic research."

Fliss had taken over the communicator, and she spoke to her adopted daughter, "Thanks, Marina, you've done a great job. We'll talk it over and call you back, OK?"

"Y – yeah. Talk to you later."

"Bye, honey."

Shock ended the call. Neil frowned, "What does Stryker have to do with my father's apparent mind control power?"

"Of course!" Scott said suddenly. "Do you remember Jason Stryker?"

"The creepy guy in the wheelchair?" Pyro said. "Or should I say, the _other_ creepy guy in a wheelchair? Magneto told me about him."

Rogue nodded, "Storm and Kurt were the only ones who saw him. They told us too."

"What are you getting at?" said Logan.

"Don't you remember his powers of illusion?" Scott asked. "He was capable of projecting images into a person's mind, scenarios and such, to make them act in whatever way he wanted. It was a method of mind control, but it wasn't the same as telepathy. Even the Professor had no defence against it."

"You think my father has the same power?" said Neil.

Scott nodded, "It fits. It makes perfect sense. We know your father had developed the technology to steal mutations from other mutants, right? If he worked with Stryker, he had the opportunity to take Jason's power."

"Right," Chloe agreed. "And that explains how he was able to make us think he was dead."

"Yes! You're right!" Neil exclaimed. "Don't you remember what he said to me at the time? He was fleeing on his helicopter and leaving behind a bomb to cover his tracks. He told me he wanted to make it look as if he'd died in the explosion. He wanted the Professor to believe he was dead."

"I remember," said Chris. "Only you killed him."

"Or so we thought. He was a step ahead of us all the time. He cast the illusion of his death into our minds. He wanted the Professor to believe he was dead, and he found the perfect way to do it. He fooled our perception…and the Professor had no reason to disbelieve us when we told him."

"Brilliant," said Scott with grudging admiration.

"Yes. He was brilliant. He had the kind of genius that only comes along once or twice a century. It's just a pity he was so consumed by his own desire for power and self-fulfilment."

"I knew there was something fishy about him," said Logan. "When we first set eyes on him, I knew there was something that didn't feel right. It wasn't until we got to London that I finally figured out what it was. He didn't smell right. It's been years since I last met Magneto but you don't forget a scent that easily. This guy, Davor or whatever his name is, smelled totally different. I knew something was bothering me, but I couldn't pin it down."

"Because part of your mind was still being taken in by his illusions," said Neil. "He could fool your eyes and your ears, but he couldn't fool your nose. He wouldn't know how to fake up the right scent and make you perceive it."

"We can use that against him, right?" said Iceman. "If Logan can see through the illusions – at least partially – we've got to use that to our advantage."

Chris was less optimistic, "How _are_ we going to deal with him? I mean, we can kill him, but how will we know he's really dead? How do we know it isn't another illusion? How will we _ever _know he's really gone?"

"I'm working on a plan," Neil said. "But it's only at the idea stage."

"I wish we knew exactly what it is he wants with us," said Fliss. "Does he want to kill us? Or does he want to control our minds and use us as slaves?"

"I think the latter is what he had in mind. My father isn't one for doing something himself if he can get somebody else to do it for him. He tried to kill me in London, and after that I think he would have kept on manipulating the rest of you with his illusions. That's what I predicted, anyway. That's why Mystique and I set up our little trap for him."

"Mystique," said Scott. "I'd forgotten about her. Where is she? What's her interest in this?"

"She wants to clear the name of the man she loved. My father is threatening to tarnish Magneto's image and Mystique can't allow that. I don't know where she is right now. The last I knew she was in pursuit of him. She has her own means of transportation."

"I guess we'll get there before she does. Guys, we need a plan. We can't allow ourselves to be fooled by any more illusions. We have to find a way to see past them. Neil, you said he was trying to kill you. Does that mean the illusions don't work on you?"

"They did before. I don't see why it should be any different now. I think he genuinely believed I _was_ going to start World War III, and he couldn't afford to take any chances. He had to dispose of me immediately."

"You deceived him pretty well."

"Not really. I just took advantage of his nature. He would naturally assume that whatever I was doing, I was doing for my own personal gain. The concept of doing something to benefit others is unknown to him. The only conclusion he could reach was that I was trying to dominate the world with my psychic control. It simply didn't occur to him that I might be trying to fool him to protect the lives of others."

"Maybe we can use _that_ to our advantage," said Iceman. "I have an idea. He values this constantium stuff pretty highly, right? What if we pretend we're coming to steal it for our own use? If he believed it, he'd be forced to act quickly and irrationally. He might not have time to conjure any convincing illusions."

"But we'll have the same problem as before," Chris pointed out. "Even if do manage to defeat him, how do we know it's real? Hell, how do we know _any_ of this is real?"

A few worried glances were exchanged. Nobody had thought of that before. What if this entire discussion was simply an illusion itself? What if Davor was finalising his plans while they were trapped in a dream? How could they be sure it wasn't? How could they be sure of _any_thing?

Neil frowned, "I think the very fact that we _are_ questioning this, means it isn't an illusion. A genuinely convincing illusion wouldn't allow us to doubt it that way."

"How long till the ocean labs?" asked Scott.

"Twenty minutes or less. I'm going to call Annie back and tell her what we've deduced."

* * *

Back in the computer room, Marina was once more seated at one of the terminals, determined to use her burgeoning expertise to delve into the data-vault stored here. There had to be more facts, ones she hadn't found before, that would put together some of the final pieces in this extraordinary puzzle. Why was Davor masquerading as Magneto? What was his plan for the constantium? What was he going to do now that he was unmasked? As she worked, the others discussed their theories. 

"It's obvious he's been using his illusions on his eleven associates," said Annie. "We know that he needs something each of them can provide. Whether he's offering them any incentive, or simply manipulating their minds, we don't know. And we don't know exactly _why_ he's pretended to be Magneto. Why him in particular?"

"Because Magneto could control metal," Dominic suggested. "Maybe he needed to convince them that he had full control over the constantium, or something."

"What if it wasn't for their benefit at all? What if it was for ours? What if he specifically wanted to lure the X-Men towards him?"

"Why would he wanna do _that_?" said Gemini. "Sounds like a good recipe for suicide to me."

"And why did he launch the attack on the school? What did that accomplish?" said Cassandra.

"We don't even know who he was targeting," Gary said. "Unless it was my dad."

"Maybe he just wanted to wipe us all out."

"Wait a minute," Gemini said. "I know who he was targeting. He was targeting _my_ dad."

"Pyro?"

"Yeah. Think about it. Like, who in the whole world knows Magneto better than anyone? Pyro and Mystique, that's who. I bet Davor was trying to kill them both. Otherwise they might have seen through his tricks and realised he wasn't really Magneto. They might have given him away and spoiled everything he'd planned."

"Right. That makes sense," Gary nodded. "And the X-Men? Same deal? They knew Magneto too."

"But he didn't try to kill them," said Annie. "He only captured them and had them held here. What if," she paused for thought, "what if he wanted to capture the X-Men, enslave them with his illusions, and then use them as his own personal army?"

"And with the constantium to protect him…" Dominic continued. "He'd be invincible."

"Right," Cassandra agreed. "But the X-Men needed something to lure them towards him. He pretended to be Magneto. He started the terrorist attacks to get their attention, to force them to try and prevent further attacks."

"The adamantium badges. That was another piece of bait. Our friends had safety in numbers, but he made them split up by luring them to different countries all over the world. They were ambushed and captured."

"Then he launched the attack on the school to kill Pyro," said Gary.

"But it failed, and he realised he'd forgotten about Dad," said Annie. "Maybe Dad didn't know what was going on, but he knew he had to act rather than just react. He went to London and set up this deception to lure Davor across the ocean, to make him dance to _our_ tune."

"So Davor used his illusions on the X-Men to convince them Dad was the one in the wrong. He'd been thrown off balance and he had to act fast. He took them to London to try and kill Dad."

"But that didn't work either. He'd forgotten about Mystique. She and Dad fooled him, and he didn't have time to think, he had to run."

"And now he's coming here. I wish we knew what he's going to try now."

"Maybe he'll just cut his losses and try to disappear," suggested Cassandra.

"Hey, take a look at this," said Marina.

They moved over to the computer terminal where she sat.

"What do you have?" Gemini asked.

"It – it talks about the President. About his wife, actually."

"The President's wife? I thought she was dead."

"Yeah, she died not long ago. Brain tumour, I think," said Gary.

"So what about her?" asked Cassie.

Annie was leaning over Marina's shoulder, reading from the computer screen, "According to his, she didn't die of a brain tumour. Davor killed her."

"What?" said Gemini. "How? Don't the First Family have, like, security and stuff?"

"It doesn't say how he managed it, but he implanted some sort of device into her brain. When triggered, it mimicked the effects of a cancerous tumour. To the world it appeared as if she died of natural causes."

"Why'd he kill her?"

"To get the President's attention, of course. Because according to this, the President's two teenage daughters have got the same implants."

Gemini's eyes widened in horror, "Oh, shit…you mean he's controlling the _President_? He can tell the President what to do and threaten to kill his daughters if he doesn't do it! That's not the way America's supposed to be! We're supposed to be the greatest democracy in the world! We can't be run on the whims of a single man!"

Cassandra nodded her agreement, "This goes against everything our country stands for! How the hell did he get away with this?"

"This explains one thing," said Dominic. "The involvement of one of Davor's twelve. Marina, remember we surmised he had to be an electronics expert? The guy called Green. He must be the one who developed these brain implants."

"R – right," Marina agreed. "He must also be the one who developed the brain implants that were used in the Horsemen. Yeah? That was a – another of Davor's projects. The Horsemen had implants in their brains that allowed Van Gaarde to – to control them."

"Until I broke the implants," said Annie. "So what's the link between the Horsemen and constantium? What's Davor hoping to achieve with either?"

"We were wondering that earlier," said Dominic. "We couldn't work it out."

"I'll keep looking," Marina said. "I think I – I'm getting somewhere in that regard."

Something occurred to Dominic. He glanced over to the corner of the room, then frowned.

"Marina? Remember that guy who walked in on us when we were in here earlier?"

"Uh-huh."

"I knocked him out and left him lying in the corner over there. He's isn't there any more."

"Well, maybe he woke up," said Gary.

"But I tied him up. I guess he must have broken free…"

For a few moments, silence fell. Gemini glanced at the door nervously. What were they to do if this man, this Davor Rosiçky, suddenly appeared? Did they have the ability to fight against him? Could they stop him from controlling their minds? Dad had begun teaching her how to block telepaths from her mind, but she wasn't sure if that would be of any use in this case. From what she'd heard, it wasn't the same thing as telepathy. She sighed unhappily and looked at the floor.

_There were two men who abused me. I remember that. Van Gaarde was only one of them. It hurts to cast my mind back to those times, but if I really think about it…he wasn't the worse of the two. The other man, Davor Whatever, was the first to rape me, and he did it far more often than Van Gaarde did it. But…I guess because Van Gaarde was the one who was around all the time, using me for experiments, he was the only one I could remember at first. My memory had blotted out the other man. Maybe my brain thought I couldn't handle those memories, so it kept me from having them. Now that I'm old enough to deal with it – at least I hope I am – I'm starting to remember. I'm starting to piece together two years of hell._

Her stomach felt uneasy. She felt as if she was going to be sick. This Davor was Crusader's grandfather, which meant he was way older than Dad. _How can somebody that age get off on abusing little girls? What kind of person would do that? Who the hell could be such a monster? Why is a man's brain capable of such depravity? Surely this proves there's no God. If there was, how could He allow things like this to happen?_

She remembered what Oculus had said about free will. It didn't make any sense to her. If God was a loving God, then why did He allow evil to exist in the first place? Why were people allowed to do it? What did God get out of it? Was it some kind of biological experiment? Was our universe just a speck in God's petri dish? Gemini raised her eyebrows slightly. It was an interesting thought…but it wasn't something she had time to think about right now.

"Crusader," she said, and Annie looked over. "What happens if he finds us? Do we fight him? Can we fight him?"

"I don't know. I'm hoping the X-Men will get here before he does. If he does confront us, we have to try and take him by surprise. I – "

She paused suddenly, her mouth still open in mid-speech. Gemini blinked in surprise, "Crusader?"

Then Annie gave a jolt, breathing hard, stumbling slightly. It was only momentary, and she regained balance.

"What was _that_?" said Dominic.

"I – I don't know," Annie gasped. "Gary, did you feel it too?"

"I felt…something," said her brother uncertainly. "I don't know what it was. It was something I've never felt before."

"Is it Davor? Is he here?" said an apprehensive Cassandra.

Annie's brow furrowed as she tried to think, "It was as if there was a sudden burst of emotion, somewhere in the world. Thousands of people experiencing the most extreme feelings…but I don't know who they were or where they were or what kind of emotion it was. I've felt it before…but never this intense."

"You think something's happened?" said Dominic.

"I don't know. I'll find out."

Annie sat down at the computer terminal beside the one Marina was working at. Marina had already cracked the security protocols that controlled access to the machines, so Annie simply logged in as a high-level user and launched a web browser.

"What are you looking for?" asked Gemini curiously.

"Breaking news stories. I think something terrible has happened, something that affected so many people so much so badly, that my telepathic receivers picked it up."

"You think Davor's done something?"

"It could be anything. It could be some sort of natural disaster. I've had similar experiences before. Whenever a really major earthquake or hurricane hit somewhere in the world, for example, I would feel the shock and the terror of those affected, even though I was thousands of miles away. I was only four when it was first happened. It was terrifying, until my dad managed to explain to me what was going on."

"Hey, I just had a thought," said Gary. "Not related to what Annie just said. It's about Davor. The X-Men reckon he has the power to create illusions to make people believe whatever he wants. If that's true, I think one of us might be immune to it."

"Who?" said Gemini.

"I don't think he'd be able to fool Cassie's foresight," Gary replied, turning to face his former girlfriend. "Cassie, do you agree? I mean, we don't even know where your fore-flashes come from. I don't see how he could fake them up."

Cassandra folded her arms and glared icily at the guy she hated, "I don't know how my power works and neither do you. I can't give any guarantees about what it will or won't do."

He shrugged. She went back to pretending he didn't exist. Silence fell back on to the room, aside from the noise of Marina and Annie both still typing away. Eventually Annie stopped typing, and her hands suddenly rose to her mouth in horror.

"Oh no," she breathed. "This is awful. This is terrible…"

"What is it? What's happened?"

"The Azores. They're gone."

"Gone?"

Gemini frowned, "What're the Azores?"

Dominic answered quickly, "It's a small island community in the Atlantic ocean, between Britain and America. Annie, what are you talking about?"

"I told you: they're _gone_! Where the Azores used to be, there is nothing but ocean! I found it on a news website."

"So what's happened?"

"How should I know? The only explanation is the islands have sunk into the ocean. But I don't see how _that_ could happen. Only a significantly large explosion on the sea bed would be able to destabilise the islands' foundations enough to make them sink without trace."

"Earthquake?" Gemini suggested.

"I doubt it. I don't think they get any there. There must be some explanation."

"That's what we felt, isn't it?" said Gary. "The inhabitants of the islands as they sunk into the water. They had no chance to escape."

"Is it something to do with Davor?" said Gemini. "Hey, what if it's an illusion? What if it's not real at all?"

"No. It's on all the major news websites. And besides, he'd have to be right here to cast an illusion into our minds."

Gemini's ears suddenly pricked up at the sound of footsteps running down the corridor.

"Someone's coming!" she exclaimed.

"Relax. It's Vertigo," said Gary.

Vertigo and Atlas arrived at fast pace, and finally relaxed when they saw the rest of the teenagers gathered in the computer room.

"Here you all are, we've been looking all over for you!" Atlas declared.

"You guys OK?" said Cassie.

"Yeah. We've kept out of trouble for the most part," said Vertigo. "Listen, Magneto's submarine has left the docks. We don't know where it's bound, and we don't think there's anyone on board. What have you guys been able to find out?"

She quickly told them. An idea had already occurred to Annie.

"Tell me about the submarine," she said. "Describe it to me."

"Its outer shell is made of constantium," Atlas told her. "We couldn't see evidence of any weapons it was carrying. Other than that…I don't know what to say. I don't know anything about them."

"Marina, see if you can bring up a schematic of the sub."

"R – right here."

Dominic, who knew a little about submarine design, moved forward to take a look. He frowned, "Hmm. That's unusual."

"What is?

"The nose of the submarine has an odd shape. It seems narrower and, well, pointier than normal. Can you find a more detailed schematic of the nose?"

While Marina searched, Annie spoke once more, "I've just found a news story about another unexplained disaster…an American submarine disappeared off the coast of Florida. A search has just begun to try and find some trace of it."

"D – Dominic?"

He looked over her shoulder at the new schematic.

"What's _that_?" he said in surprise.

He hadn't really been talking to anyone other than himself, and wasn't surprised when he didn't get any response from the others.

"What's the matter?" said Cassie, laying her hand gently on his shoulder.

"I don't understand why, but the nose of the submarine has been fitted with some kind of drilling mechanism. And get this, the drill is also made entirely of constantium."

"But that could, like, drill through anything," said Gemini. "Am I right?"

Annie nodded slowly, "Yes…you are. Wait a second."

A few mouse clicks later she had brought up a map of the Atlantic Ocean on her computer screen.

"If we're here," she said, pointing to Florida, "and the US navy sub was lost here," pointing near to the coast, "and the Azores are here," pointing to the island colony, "look! It's a straight line through the three points!"

"Davor's submarine!" Dominic exclaimed. "The constantium drill! He must have attacked and destroyed the American sub! Then he – bloody hell – he must have drilled right through the foundations of the islands! The constantium drill can go through anything! There's nothing can stand up to it!"

"But where is the sub headed now?" said Gary. "What will it hit next?"

Annie continued the straight line, "Oh, no! It's going to hit Ireland! Vertigo, how long ago did the sub leave?"

"I don't know. Half an hour?"

"Fuck, then it's travelling at some speed," Gary swore. "How long will it take to reach Europe?"

Marina did the calculations the fastest, "It'll – it'll hit Ireland in less than an hour."

"And it won't stop there," said Dominic. "It'll destroy half that country and keep going. What's going to stop it? Britain will be next, then mainland Europe. Then Asia, then America. I mean, there is literally nothing that will stop it. There is nothing on this Earth that can withstand a constantium drilling torpedo, which is effectively what it is."

"What do we _do_?" Gemini screamed. "We have to warn people! We have to find a way to stop it before it can kill anyone else!"

"It's too late for that," said Annie, suddenly gasping. "He's here. I can feel it."

"Davor's _here_?"

"I can sense his presence. He's just arrived. And the X-Men aren't here yet."

"What do we do?"

"He must have a way of controlling the submarine. We have to find out what it is, so we can stop it! We can't just kill him! If we do, there might be no way to stop the destruction!"

* * *

a

a

a

A/N: I know this is implausible, you don't need to tell me :-)


	27. Chapter Twenty Six: The Foolkiller

As the jet touched down on the cliff top above the ocean labs, the X-Men hurried down the ramp and prepared to enter the facility.

"Is he here already?" asked Fliss.

Neil concentrated for a moment, "I think so. The constantium is making it difficult, but I can just about sense his presence."

Pyro ignited his cigarette lighter, "No-one kills him but me."

"Bloodthirsty as ever, I see," said Logan.

"If you met the man who'd raped your daughter, you'd feel exactly the same way."

"John, get a hold of yourself," said Chloe. "Don't give into your anger, or you might do something you'll regret. Remember, he'll be casting illusions into your mind. If you react in anger and without thinking, you might end up killing the wrong person."

"I get the picture, Gaia."

"Neil, where is he?" said Scott.

"I don't know," Neil admitted. "I can't sense him any more. There's too much constantium here."

"Logan? Pick up his scent if you can."

"I'm on it."

"OK, let's move. Be careful, all of you."

Pyro hissed furiously, "He's a dead man."

* * *

"What do we _do_?" cried Gemini. 

Annie took charge, "We have to find him as soon as possible. Otherwise it will be too late, for millions of people. Marina, you stay here and keep searching the computers' data-vault. You might find something more about the submarine. Dominic, you'd better stay too. You're the only one who knows anything about subs."

He nodded his agreement, "My solar energy is used up, so I wouldn't be much use in a fight anyway."

"The rest of us will have to split up into pairs and search for Davor."

"Whoa!" said Gemini. "Pairs? Isn't that, like, risky?"

"Of course it is! We're in a desperate situation here! If we all stick together we may not cover enough ground! Gary, Cassandra, go together. Vertigo, go with Gemini. Atlas, you're with me. Let's go."

"I am _not_ going with him," Gemini refused, pointing at the ninja.

"We're wasting time! Come _on_!"

The six teenagers split into their three pairs, and hurried out of the computer room, each going in a different direction.

"Well, the lower level is flooded," said Gary, as he and Cassandra ran along. "I guess he won't be going down there. We can restrict our search to this level, and any above it."

"There's one level above," she said. "Can your telepathy sense him?"

"No. I could at first, but the constantium must be blocking it now."

"Wonderful."

They moved more cautiously as they entered an area of the facility they were unfamiliar with. There didn't seem to be anybody round, no guards or researchers as far as they could tell. Had the place been evacuated due to the flooding? They could only guess. The absence of other people was probably a good thing. It meant there were less innocents to be caught in the crossfire. They began searching the area carefully for any signs of Davor.

"Listen, Cassie," Gary said eventually. "I know we didn't part on very good terms, but – "

"But you still want to be friends?" she scoffed. "Forget it."

"I never meant to hurt you…"

"You broke my heart, and you knew that was exactly what you were doing."

"I didn't want to hurt you. I didn't choose to. I just had to follow my heart."

"Yeah, right. The moment you found out she was still alive, you dropped me like a bad habit."

"No, Cassie, it wasn't like that! I was torn apart! I couldn't decide what I should do! I knew I was going to have to hurt one of you and I just felt so terrible that I'd allowed things to get to that point!"

"I should have known along that you didn't want me. You just wanted somebody to hold on to while you pined for her."

"No, that isn't true. The fact is my life changed when I thought Marina was dead. And then it changed again when I found she was alive. I was mixed up and confused and I didn't know what to think. The fact is I did love you. You weren't just a substitute for Marina. There was something special between us."

"Yeah, right."

"I'm not lying, Cassie. When I joined the Brotherhood it was like starting a whole new life, and you were a part of it, the biggest part. When we allied with the X-Men, I found myself back in my old life again. I was having to live both, and I couldn't do that. I had to choose one or the other."

"Whatever. I don't really give a shit," she lied. "Can we drop this already, please?"

"Yeah, OK. I just wanted to let you know that – "

"Oh, stow it, Gladiator. I don't care. I'd rather talk about this constantium stuff. Is it really indestructible?"

"As far as I know. On top of that, it blocks telepathy as well."

"Which means you're not going to be any use when we come up against it, right?"

He sighed, "I guess not."

"Well, isn't that just – "

"Sshh! I thought I heard something…"

They went silent and listened intently for the sound of anyone approaching.

* * *

Gemini was uncomfortable being alone with Vertigo. She still didn't trust him. She would probably never trust him again. She still remembered his hands, touching her, on her legs, and between her legs. She remembered the delight in his voice when he discovered her lack of underwear. She remembered his refusal to listen to her protests or her wishes, as he forced her legs open and tried to violate her. Well…maybe that hadn't been his intention. Maybe he'd genuinely thought she was OK with it. But that was how it had felt to _her_. 

She remembered how Davor had done exactly the same thing, on countless, countless occasions. Only then Dad hadn't been there to rescue her and to comfort her. Nobody had. All she'd been able to do was curl up and cry herself to sleep, knowing there was nothing in the world to prevent it from happening again the next day. She'd never felt safe around men since. She knew their instincts took over their brains whenever they looked at her. She knew she was just an object of desire for them. She knew they would never take the time to try and find out what she was like as a person, underneath the exterior.

But still…she no longer feared them. She knew Dad would always be there to protect her. She knew he'd take on any man who tried to abuse her from now on. She wished Dad were here now. _He_ would know what to do about Davor. He always knew what to do. He always made the right decisions. He would have come up with a plan by now, a plan that would defeat Davor and stop the submarine from killing people. Dad knew everything. The X-Men just didn't listen to him. If they had, maybe they wouldn't all be stuck in this situation right now.

"What do we do if we find him?" she asked Vertigo.

He shrugged, "Kill him."

"We _can't_ kill him! Didn't you hear Crusader? We have to find a way to stop the submarine or people will die!"

"Humans will die."

"_And_ mutants. Besides, not every human deserves to die."

"Yes they do. They're just vermin under our feet."

"No they're not. My Dad doesn't think so. Vertigo, I don't get it. What happened to make you hate humans so much?"

"Why don't you ask your Dad?" he said mockingly.

_What an asshole,_ she thought.

* * *

Atlas was nervous. Annie could sense it, and it was making her nervous too. Had she known him better, she would have known that this was not an uncommon feeling for him. Since his early days at the orphanage with the human kids, he had become accustomed to looking over his shoulder at every moment, on the lookout for those who might try to hurt him. He remembered planting batches of flowers in hidden, secret places in the woods, then lying awake at night for fear that the other children might discover them and trample them. Anxiety was a near-constant companion for him, but he did not dislike its company. It kept him safe. Even if many of his worries or fears proved to be unfounded, he had always believed that it was better to be safe than sorry. He disliked taking chances, but he wasn't a coward. He was prepared to put himself in danger, but only when he was confident that he could understand and evaluate the risks involved. He didn't like risking his life at times when he was ignorant of the full facts. 

At times such as this. Things were moving much too quickly for his liking. They didn't know where this Davor was. Nor did they know precisely what he was capable of. Nor did they know what his objective was. Nor did they know how they might force him to tell how to stop the submarine from destroying half the world. He looked at Crusader. Did she know any of these things? Did she feel any more confident than he was? Did any of them? Did they have a chance of defeating Davor? Was it possible to see past his illusions to kill him? How would they know when they _had_ killed him?

"Crusader? What if he's casting an illusion on us right now?"

Annie smiled to try and reassure him, "Don't worry. He needs to be close. We'll have at least some chance to react before he can cast."

Had Atlas thought it over, he would have realised how wrong she was.

* * *

The X-Men were the first to be targeted. Hurrying through the facility in pursuit of their quarry, they were afflicted with the first of the illusions. A heavily armed group of security guards suddenly came charging at them round the next corner. Forced to back up and seek cover, they were shocked and alarmed by the appearance of a second group of guards, attacking them from behind. There was nowhere else to go. They were trapped between the two forces. 

"Surrender or die," one of the humans barked.

But Pyro had no intention of surrendering. Driven by a fire within, and determined to avenge the torment suffered by his daughter, he hurled a ball of flame at the nearest group of guards. Caught by surprise, they had no time to avoid it, and each man was set alight.

The second group brought their weapons up to fire, but Fliss reacted faster, individual lightning bolts leaping from each of her outstretched fingers, hurling the men backwards and burning sizzling holes into their flesh. Logan and Chris were already running forward to deal with any survivors, when the two groups of guards abruptly disappeared into nothing.

"What the hell?" Logan cried.

"Where'd they go?"

"It's an illusion!" Scott realised. "Shit, he must be close! Logan, can't you smell anything?"

"No!"

"He's here somewhere, and he knows we're here. All right, stay calm – especially you, Pyro. We can expect more illusions. Let's keep going."

* * *

Cassandra's ears pricked up at the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching. 

"Hey, someone's coming," she whispered to her former lover.

"Is it him?"

But the footsteps were too light to be a man's. It couldn't be Davor. Was it one of their friends? Both Gary and Cassie waited and watched as the footsteps grew louder and louder, to see who approached.

"Cassie!" little Accel cried as she came running towards them. "Cassie, help me! They're chasing me!"

"Honey! What are you doing here?"

Cassandra was already rising to meet the child. Behind Accel they could see two guards, both carrying automatic weapons. They knelt, steadied themselves, and fired. Accel screamed as she was thrown to the ground, bullets ripping into her tiny body and killing her instantly.

"_NO_!" Cassandra howled, her eyes wide in horror.

Thinking nothing of her own safety, she ran towards the little girl, hoping beyond hope that there was some spark of life left in the child. At the end of the corridor, the guards were aiming their weapons at her head.

"Cassie!" Gary yelled, grabbing at her and pulling her back.

"No!" she screamed, clawing to get free. "I have to help Accel! She's _dying_, you bastard!"

"It's an illusion, Cassie, it's not real!"

"Accel!"

"It's an illusion!"

But the bullet that flew through the air towards them was quite real. Cassie's foresight wasn't fooled, however, and she pulled Gary downwards until the two of them were flat on the ground.

Davor Rosiçky cursed as the bullet missed his grandson by inches. He disappeared back round the corner, seeking his next target.

Gary and Cassie looked at each other uncomfortably. They'd ended up in a position which, some months ago, they wouldn't have found unnatural at all. She was on the floor, on her back, and he was on top of her. For a few moments neither of them moved. Although it felt strange, it didn't feel wrong.

"Um – "

"Yeah – um – "

_Marina!_ he reminded himself. Gently he rose, allowing Cassandra to move aside and stand

"Well, thanks for saving my life," he said.

"Likewise."

The awkward moment passed, and they got their minds back on track.

"Where'd he go?" she said. "We have to follow him!"

"We can't get too close; he'll cast another illusion," Gary warned. "We might not see through it this time."

"He doesn't need to be close to cast an illusion! I just remembered! He cast one on me just before we got here!"

"He did? What happened?"

Cassie sighed, "All of my terrible feelings – about you and Aqua – were multiplied a hundred times until I wanted to kill myself. I almost did. If Helios – if Dominic hadn't stopped me…"

"And Davor wasn't even close by?"

"No! We were still in the helicopter, still on our way here!"

"Shit! That means he can cast them from any distance! It means we aren't safe anywhere in the building!"

* * *

Vertigo had been feeling strange for quite some time now. The terrible and painful memories that he normally kept locked deep inside himself, were beginning to throb and demand to be allowed out. Sometimes, very occasionally, he allowed himself to brood on them, but he hadn't done so recently. Man, the feeling was intense. It was almost as if the memories had become visions in front of his eyes… 

_In his earliest memories he had been a very small boy, no older than six or seven. His mother was thirteen years old when she'd been raped by her own step-father. She had become pregnant, and Vertigo had been born. His early memories of the man had been drunkenness and bouts of violence often resulting in his mother being beaten, and he himself being sent out of the house, sometimes all night_. _He would cry himself to sleep every night, listening to the sounds downstairs, his father yelling and threatening, and his mother crying and whimpering as she was beaten. But in the morning Mommy would wake him, smile at him, and tell him everything was all right. _

He believed her. He believed that one day everything would be all right, and they would be happy. Daddy wouldn't drink any more, and he wouldn't hit Mommy. Mommy wouldn't need to spend so much time applying her makeup to hide the bruises and scratches, and Daddy wouldn't spend what little money they had on drinking their lives away. The young Vertigo worked hard at school, proving exceptionally talented at sports and gymnastics, and he looked forward to the future. One day everything would be all right. Mommy and Daddy would love each other again, and they would be proud of him.

His dream was finally shattered one winter morning, when he came home from school to find Mommy on her knees, begging Daddy not to hit her with the baseball bat. Daddy was drunk and swearing and yelling, and started hitting her with the baseball bat. He didn't stop until she stopped moving. After that there was no Mommy, and the little boy who would become Vertigo had realised that his happy future was never going to be. With his mother went everything that was good in his life, leaving him in the care of his drunkard father, who turned his vicious attentions to beating his only son. Vertigo quickly learned to be swift and nimble to avoid the old man's blows.

When he was ten, he finally decided his gymnastic and athletic brilliance was simply too ludicrous to be true. Realisation that he was a mutant took some time to sink in, but Vertigo – as he had started calling himself by then – wasn't much given to expressing surprise or emotion. He took it in his stride and without appearing to care, as he had done every day since Mommy had been hit with the baseball bat.

When he was twelve, the old man had reached for the baseball bat again. As the blows rained down and Vertigo pleaded with him to stop, he remembered Mommy had pleaded too, but it hadn't done her any good. So he did what Mommy hadn't done. He fought back. With a single twist of his wrist, he ripped the baseball bat out of the fat old drunk's hand. Then things went out of control. The man who'd ruled his house with an iron fist for years was stunned by the boy's defiance. But it didn't slow his reactions as he lumbered to the gun cupboard, reaching for the shotgun, determined to re-assert his authority any way he could. He never got to the gun cupboard. Leaping on to the old man's back, Vertigo scissored his legs around his father's neck, squeezing with every ounce of strength those young but wiry muscles could muster. Within seconds, the neck had snapped, and Vertigo was an orphan.

He looked up. His memories and feelings were so intense, he almost imagined he could see it happening right in front of him. There was Mommy, on her knees, begging Daddy to stop hitting her with the baseball bat. Last time it had happened, Vertigo had done nothing. Last time it had happened, Mommy had died. This time it would be different.

He stood, and began running towards them.

"You whore! You filthy stinking little whore!" the old man was yelling, with another crack of the bat and another scream from the young woman.

"_SHUT UP_!" Vertigo howled, driving his fist into the man's throat in one effortless, murderous manoeuvre.

His father's throat exploded in a shower of blood and he was thrown backwards. Mommy was unmoving on the ground, and Vertigo knelt beside her, sobbing uncontrollably, "Mommy?"

The illusion was ripped apart with the sound of a gunshot. Vertigo's catlike reflexes saved his life, as he jerked sideways by pure instinct, and the bullet hit him in the shoulder instead of in the neck. Footsteps hurried away, and Davor was gone.

"Vertigo!" Gemini cried, running forward to his side.

She had watched in confusion and disbelief as he had run forward and begun screaming at the air in front of him. Then she had seen the figure at the end of the corridor with the gun. She hadn't had any time to react before Vertigo had been shot.

"Are you OK?"

He was still in tears, but she couldn't tell whether it was from pain or from the illusion he'd been experiencing. Blood was pouring from the wound in his shoulder, and she pressed his hand against it, "Hold there for just a second."

Tearing off a scrap of his shirt, she wrapped it around the wound and tied it tightly. The bleeding stopped, and she admired her field dressing. Dad had taught her how to do it. She helped Vertigo to his feet. He was beginning to calm down, and she was ready to pursue the monster.

* * *

The X-Men were moving cautiously, each of them wary of further illusions. They worried that they didn't know the full power of the deceptions. Could Davor create an illusion in which the X-Men believed they had died? Could he, for example, fool them into thinking they had been shot? What would happen? Would the brain, thinking the body to be dead, shut down? Would they actually die? Was that possible? It was a terrifying thought. The Professor would have known the answer…but he was no longer here. 

Pyro was striding ahead, driven by his rage at his daughter's torturer, thinking nothing of safety or care or precaution, thinking of only one thing: finding the bastard and making him suffer what little fraction of Gemini's suffering he might be able to inflict. He was leaving the X-Men behind, but he didn't care. He didn't need them. He'd never needed anyone. Besides, this was a personal battle. This was a father protecting his daughter. This was two years' worth of payback. This was Pyro's way of finding a target for all the rage that had been pent-up inside of him ever since Jacqueline had died. He'd tried attaching his rage to the humans, but it hadn't worked. Maybe Davor was the one. Maybe he was the one who could take the blame for all the agony that Pyro and Gemini had endured.

His chance came sooner than he might have expected. Turning the next corner, he found himself face to face with the bastard himself. Davor looked surprised, and quickly glanced around for some way of escape. Turning to run, he wasn't fast enough. Pyro launched a fireball that engulfed him, setting him alight, his screaming figure running about in terror until it collapsed on to the floor and burned in silence.

Then it changed. The figure in the midst of the blaze was not Davor. It was somebody else. Somebody Pyro had never expected to see again…

"Jacqueline!" he gasped.

It couldn't be! It couldn't possibly be! The only girl he had ever loved could not possibly be lying in the middle of the inferno he had just created! Yet she was. How had this happened? She was dead! Could she have survived? Could she somehow have survived, found her way here, only to be killed at last by the man who loved her? No! That couldn't be true! Pyro couldn't have killed her! He loved her! He'd lived in agony for years because of her death! He couldn't be the one responsible for it!

Dropping to his knees, he clawed at the figure in the flames, as if he could somehow restore her to life. It was pointless. It was useless. She was dead. Jacqueline was dead and he, Pyro, was her killer. He broke down into anguished sobbing, and didn't even hear the click as the gun was pressed against his forehead.

"Nice try," said Scott.

His optic blast hit Davor just before the illusionist could pull the trigger on the weeping Pyro. With a yell of anger and pain, the old man was thrown to the ground. The illusion had vanished, and Pyro saw that the figure in the middle of the flames had disappeared. There had never been anyone there, least of all Jacqueline. What had he been thinking? She was already dead. He'd seen it happen. He'd cradled her dead body in his arms after she'd been shot. How could he possibly have been taken in by an illusion that she had survived?

Davor scrambled to his feet, hurried through the dying fire, avoided another optic blast, and disappeared through a door on the left.

"You OK?" Scott asked, hauling Pyro to his feet.

Furious at the X-Man seeing him in such a sorry emotional state, Pyro tried to maintain some dignity, "I'm fine. Thank you."

Scott turned round, and beckoned to the rest, "Come on. He went through here!"

* * *

Annie knew it was an illusion the moment she saw the ghostly, black-garbed figure of Death, the prime Horseman of the Apocalypse, slowly gliding towards her. Calmly she evaluated the situation. Death was dead. She'd killed him herself, seen his radiation-craving form shatter into a cloud of black ash as her healing power overcame the unknown and unstable bonds that held his cells and molecules together. He was dead. It made no logical sense that he'd be walking towards her now. Plus, Atlas wasn't reacting to it in any way. It wasn't there. It was an illusion. But if so, how could she make herself see through it? How could she cast it away and get back to reality? 

Concentrating, she fired a blast of telepathic energy in the directions of the illusory Death. If Davor were standing there, casting the illusion, it ought to disrupt his mental processes and destroy the illusion. Nothing happened. Maybe he was somewhere else. Could he cast these illusions from afar? Annie hoped not.

* * *

Vertigo's injury was still giving him problems, and he was finding it painful to walk. Gemini supported him as he gingerly sat down to rest, to give the wound some more time to heal. She then stood, and kept a close eye in both directions to make sure Davor could not ambush them. Well, there was no sign of anybody at the moment. Maybe he was off deceiving somebody else. Maybe Dad and the X-Men had gotten here, and were fighting him. Maybe they'd already killed him. Maybe the nightmare was already over. 

A noise to the left told her this was not so. Gemini looked over, and her heart gave a sudden lurch when she saw him. He looked different. He looked like Magneto. But it was still him. She could tell, somehow, something about him told her it was the man who'd abused her so many times over two years. Looking at her hungrily, he began to hurry towards her. Gemini's initial reaction was sheer terror, and she tensed herself to run away. But she couldn't do that. She couldn't leave Vertigo. She had to stay and fight. Concentrating hard, she summoned her duplicate.

But it didn't work. No twin appeared by her side. No! Why wasn't her power working? Was she too tired? Did she need to recover strength before it would work? She backed away as the monster approached.

"Vertigo, help me!" the terrified girl begged him.

He made no response. Gemini turned to run, but only stumbled and fell on to her hands and knees. She turned, sobbing and shaking, as the demon advanced on her. Vertigo had disappeared, and something strange was happening to her too. She was shrinking, growing smaller and thinner, tinier and weaker. Her clothes vanished, and then she was a terrified, cringing, naked eight year old, just as she had been so many years ago.

_No! What's happening to me! _she tried to scream, but no sound came out of her throat

The monster grabbed her shoulders, holding her down. She struggled, but she no longer possessed her fourteen year old body. Her eight year old form was pathetic and useless, and she could barely squirm. Her legs were pushed apart.

No! God, kill me, please kill me now! God, please!

And just as suddenly as it had begun, the terror was ended. She gasped in relief. She was fourteen again. She had her clothes on. She was still lying on her back, but Vertigo was there, and there was no sign of Davor Rosiçky anywhere. Instead Cyclops of the X-Men was kneeling down in front of her, his hand gently touching her shoulder, his mouth forming words that her terrified brain wasn't hearing.

"…you OK? Alexandra?" she finally made out.

Without knowing what she was doing, she clutched him, begging him to stay with her and never to leave her. Still breathing hard, her mind coming to terms with her experience, she told herself to calm down. It was only an illusion. Only an illusion. Her worst fear imaginable, being taken back to her previous hell, away from Dad's protection, had come true, if only for a few seconds. It wasn't real. _It wasn't real_!

Eventually some part of her took control, and she realised she was hugging Cyclops. Gently he disentangled her arms, and helped her stand.

"What happened? Did you get him away from me?" she asked awkwardly.

"Yes. He's on the run now. We'll catch him."

She exhaled slowly, "Oh, it was horrible. But it felt so _real_! I thought it really was happening! I thought I really had been – never mind. I…um…Cyclops?"

"Yes?"

"I want to thank you for, um, for getting me out of there. Out of the illusion, I mean. I know I've – I've, oh, this is hard to say. I'm sorry for the things I've said to you sometimes. I mean if I, like, hurt your feelings…I'm sorry."

"Alexandra…don't worry about it. Just calm down. Here's your dad."

He handed her over to Pyro, and she rested in Dad's arms. _He's here and he protects me. He always will. I'll never have that taken away from me._

"Don't worry," Dad said softly. "We're gonna kill that bastard."

"No. You can't kill him," she whispered.

"Why not?"

But Gemini was so overwhelmed with emotion and relief and the lingering fear of the illusion, that she had forgotten all about the submarine and its murderous drill.

And nobody had noticed that Neil and Chloe Rosiçky had disappeared.

* * *

Scott heard her voice speaking into his mind. 

Scott…

He recognised it instantly.

_Jean?_ he thought

_Yes, it's me._

_You're alive?_

_Yes. Scott, there's more going on here than you realise. You have to turn back._

_Turn back?_

_I can't explain right now. You have to come back to the mansion. That's where I am now. I'm using Cerebro to talk to you._

One part of Scott wanted to believe it, would have given anything for it to be true. He'd had this dream, this fantasy, so many times. After Jean had died, he had imagined a hundred different scenarios in which her telepathic voice would suddenly speak into his mind, and tell him she had survived. Maybe she could have held back the flood long enough to break free, and to lie somewhere, exhausted and undiscovered, until her injuries healed and her strength returned. And then she would come back to him. But as the weeks, the months and then the years began to elapse, he'd finally accepted this dream was not going to come true. So it changed slightly. Maybe Jean's use of her telekinetic powers had drained her so much that she had lost her memory. That was possible, wasn't it? Maybe she was alone, on a remote island somewhere, recuperating and recovering her lost memories. Maybe once she had recalled her past, she would remember Scott, and then she would come back to him.

It was possible. Wasn't it?

But another part of him saw the obvious and painful truth.

Nice try, Davor. Your illusions might work on the others, but I can see through this one. Are you losing your touch?

Scott, this is Jean. Leave now. Come back to the mansion with me.

If this is Jean, tell me how to destroy Davor.

Silence.

_Why are you doing this, Davor?_ asked Scott_, why are you forcing us to relive our most painful memories and remember our saddest losses? Does your research really justify this pain and suffering?_

Davor's angry voice came: _If you knew the true value of my research, you would not even ask that question, fool! _

The words of a true mad scientist…

Be silent. What I am developing will change the world forever.

What we're about to do to you will certainly change **your** world forever.

Davor sneered: _Ha_! _Bring it on, as you Americans would say._

"Scott?" one of the others was saying. "Which way do you think he went?"

"He's on the run," said Scott. "We're forcing him to move quicker than he wants. He must be heading straight for whatever brought him here."

"And what would that be?" asked Logan.

"His supply of constantium, I would guess. Alexandra, do you know where to find it?"

Gemini looked at him, "I know where his main research lab is. He might be heading there."

"Can you take us there?"

"Sure."

"No, wait a minute," Pyro said. "She's not going with us."

"Yes, I am!"

"No, you're not. You just found out what his illusions can do to you. You want to go through that again?"

"Dad, I am _not_ waiting here. Besides, he can cast his illusions on me whether I'm here or there. He can cast them from anywhere."

"He can?"

"Sure. He did it to Cassie when we were coming in on the chopper."

"Are you serious?" said Scott.

"Yeah."

"He can cast them from a distance?" Fliss asked in dismay. "Then we're screwed! We can't possibly know what's real and what isn't!"

"But he can only cast them on one of us at a time, right?" said Iceman.

"No," said Scott. "We all saw the illusion of those guards, remember?"

"Shit, that's right."

Pyro said, "But the more detailed illusions, the ones deliberately aimed at a single person and designed to bring on an emotional collapse – I bet he can only do one of _those_ at a time. If we stick together, we should be OK."

"Agreed," Cyclops nodded.

Logan had been sniffing the air around them for the last few moments, and he turned to the rest, "He went this way! Follow me!"

* * *

The sound of Marina's voice screaming for help grabbed Gary's attention in an instant. 

"Gary! H – help me!" he heard her begging.

She was just up ahead. Whatever was happening had to be putting her in danger. Whatever it was, Gary would rescue her from it. He began running in the direction of her voice.

But Cassandra had stepped in front of him and put her hands on his chest, "Gladiator, it's an illusion!"

"It is?"

"Of course it is! He's trying to draw you towards him so he can shoot you! Remember, he did the same thing to me with the illusion of Accel!"

"But what if it isn't an illusion? What if she really _is_ in trouble?"

"Call her. I bet she's still in the computer room."

"I don't have a communicator."

"It is _not_ real. It's just another illusion."

"Gary, please help me!" Marina shrieked from just around the corner.

He made up his mind. Maybe it was an illusion. Maybe it wasn't. Either way, he wasn't going to take the risk that Marina might really be in danger, and that he ended up doing nothing to help her. If it was an illusion, he might die. If it wasn't, Marina might die. He knew which chance he was more willing to take. He began running forward.

"Gladiator! It's not real!" Cassandra cried, trying to pull him back.

Anger rose inside him. Cassandra hated Marina. She wouldn't care if Marina died. She didn't care about the possibility that it wasn't an illusion. He grabbed her and shoved her up against the wall, fury flowing through his veins. _Cassandra. She wouldn't care if Marina died. She would happily kill Marina herself. She's hoping it's not an illusion, so Marina really does get killed. I hate her! I hate Cassandra! She hates Marina! I'm going to kill her!_

"What are you _doing_?" Cassie shrieked in surprise, as Gladiator's large hands grasped her around the throat and began squeezing.

Die, you murderer, die! You would kill Marina if you had the chance! You're not going to get the chance! I'm doing this to save her from your hate!

Cassandra began to choke and writhe, struggling to break free, but she had no hope of matching his huge mutated strength. As he squeezed, her windpipe constricted, her face began to turn blue, and her movements were little more than wild, erratic spasms of desperation. Her eyes pleaded with him to stop.

And something in the eyes managed to get through. Gary suddenly gasped with shock, and his hands instantly let go of her throat. Cassandra fell on to her hands and knees, wheezing and choking, gratefully sucking air through her bruised windpipe into her starved lungs. For a moment he was racked by confusion…what had he been _doing_? He'd set out to try and save Marina from being hurt, and he'd ended up trying to throttle Cassie! What had happened to him? What had possessed him?

Gradually she got her breathing under control, and he reached for her hand, helping her to her feet.

"I – I'm sorry," he said in bewilderment. "I have no idea what just happened…"

"I do," she wheezed. "But I don't believe it. Even though I could see the illusion, I couldn't see what Davor was trying to do with it. I thought he was trying to lure you out there to kill you. But instead he was trying to use an illusion of Aqua to drive a wedge between us, to make you kill me."

"I never saw it. Cassie, I'm really sorry…"

She sighed, "You don't need to apologise. I fell for his illusion earlier."

"We have to kill him."

"_After_ we stop the submarine!"

* * *

Atlas noted with increasing panic that Crusader was beginning to struggle. Several times she had almost lost her balance, and it took at least three tries before he could succeed in getting her attention. 

"It's the constantium," she said with an effort. "Oh, we must be getting close. There's so much of it. The poorer grade stuff doesn't affect me so much, but the pure samples…they're like a bubble in timespace where telepathy can't exist – where I can't go."

"What are you gonna do? What do you want me to do?"

"I don't think I can go any further. I'll lose consciousness if I get any nearer to the damn stuff. Listen, it's too risky for you to go on alone. Try and find the others."

"Where are they?"

"I don't know. I think they're close."

"OK. Well…"

"Good luck," she said.

Annie hated the feeling of powerlessness as Atlas walked on without her. She fumed inside. It was her duty to stop Davor. It was her duty as the strongest X-Woman to fight against those who were evil. It went against every instinct in her body to stop here while her weaker friends went on without her. The problem was, there simply wasn't any other choice. If she went on any further, she'd be knocked out. This was a battle she couldn't take part in, let alone win. For once her great telepathic gift was more of a curse than a blessing. It rendered her totally unable to approach Davor for fear of the constantium.

She smacked her fist into her thigh in frustration. How could she just be _standing_ here when their enemy could be only yards away! Sighing deeply, Annie forced herself to calm down. She wasn't totally useless. She could still heal any of her friends who came by. She'd tried pushing through the walls with her X-ray sight, but she couldn't muster the concentration to get it to work. The constantium was affecting her mind's ability to focus.

* * *

Dominic stood restlessly near the door of the computer room, resisting the temptation to pace back and forth. That would only distract Marina. As far as he could tell, she was having enough trouble as it was. She had been searching the computers' data-vault for any more information about the submarine, or about the constantium. But after Cassie and the rest had left, Marina had been having little success. To her dismay she had discovered that some of the files were still security-encrypted, at a level higher than the decryption key she'd been given by Hoogstrate, the computer expert. There had to be some way of cracking the encryption and finding her way in…but unless she had a sudden stroke of luck, it would take time, time they probably didn't have. She didn't know exactly what was in the encrypted files, but she guessed it was Davor's highest security information. It was probably the secrets of his research that nobody else, not even his eleven co-conspirators, knew about. Would it hold the answer to why he was doing all this, why he'd had her family murdered? Marina hadn't forgotten that. She had to know what was so important that her family had been killed to protect it. It wouldn't bring them back and it probably wouldn't make her feel any better…but she felt as if she had to know. There was simply no other way to go on. 

She heard a noise from the doorway, footsteps entering the room, and she glanced up apprehensively. Had someone found them? Had Davor somehow gotten past the others and come after her, determined to finish the last Forrester? Strange. Dominic had disappeared. But Marina forgot about him, and about everything else entirely, when she saw the two figures who'd walked into the room.

"Mom! Dad!" she cried.

Her father smiled. Her mother opened her arms, and Marina ran across the room to fall into an embrace. Mom held her fondly, and kissed the top of her head. Dad's hand gently caressed her shoulder, as the two adults lovingly cuddled their youngest daughter. Marina sobbed tears of elation and relief as she hugged them. She'd craved her parents' company and love for so long without having it, and now it was hers once more. She'd dreamed about this moment. She'd dreamed that Mom and Dad were not dead after all, and she could hold them once more and feel their affection for her. This was right. This was meant to be. Her mind was healed now. Her mental illness was gone. Mom and Dad were alive again.

Dominic looked on in dismay as Marina was overcome by the illusion. He had never seen her looking so happy, so content, so relaxed…and it saddened him. He knew it wasn't real. He knew that once the illusion was over, Marina would once again have to face the reality that her parents were dead. She would have to lose them forever, all over again. He knew it would do terrible things to her. He knew it might send her back into the awful trauma she'd experienced before, but this time there might be no recovery. All of the healing she'd done, all of the hard work and commitment she'd put into rebuilding her life…it might all be for nothing now. She might never recover from this. He wanted to grab her and pull her away from the illusion. He wanted to pull her out of it. He didn't have the heart to do it. He didn't want to be the one who pulled Marina out of her blissful dream, and brought her back to the numbing horror of reality.

He sat down in front of the computer where she'd been working. It was obvious that she'd been getting somewhere. He'd bet that was why Davor had cast the illusion on her, to get her away from the computer. Dominic knew he had to try and take up where she'd left off. If the answers they sought were close, he was ready to find them. He was no expert with computer security, but to defeat Davor he was prepared to try anything. Looking closely at the screen, he tried to get an idea of what Marina had been in the middle of, just before the illusion took her.

_Great. It looks as if she was writing some kind of decryption program to break into these files. I don't have a clue what to do with it. It makes no sense to me whatsoever. _He sighed_. I suppose all I can do is try my best. Are there any programs she's already finished writing, that I could try and use to hack my way through the encryption? Yeah, here's some. Let's try this one…_

He sighed. 

He knew just enough to be able to compile the program and set it to work. If it didn't work, he'd try the next one. And then the next one, until he'd tried them all. If none of them worked, he'd have to try and get Marina back to work on the problem. But he doubted if she would be in any state to concentrate on this or anything else. Nevertheless, he had to do something. Even if his efforts did nothing more than distract Davor, it would at least help the others. He wondered how they were getting on. He thought Annie might have called him if there was some kind of update on the pursuit. He wondered if Scott and the rest were here yet. They had to be. Davor couldn't have arrived very long before them.

He looked over at Marina, and sighed heavily. She was huddled against the wall, smiling in contented bliss, and whispering something under her breath. She thought she was hugging her parents and whispering her love to them. How could Davor _do_ this to her? How could he risk destroying her mental stability forever, just to stop her from getting to the files on the computer system? Was his research work that damn important to him? Was it more important than a person's life? Because if Marina couldn't recover from losing her parents again, her life _would_ be over. She'd still be alive and breathing, but her mind would have completely collapsed and she would be little more than a mindless automaton. Dominic couldn't bear to think of that happening to his friend. He'd kill Davor if that was how Marina ended up! Angrily smacking his fist into his palm, he was suddenly aware of somebody walking into the room. Dominic looked across to see someone he recognised, but someone he had certainly never expected to see again.

His twin brother Recyclo stared back at him. For a moment Dominic's heart leapt. His brother was here! His brother was alive! They'd thought he was dead! Dominic had always maintained that they'd never _seen_ him die, that he _could_ have survived, but nobody else had wanted to believe it. Nobody else had wanted Recyclo to still be alive. Only Dominic wanted his twin brother to have survived, to allow them to finally spend time together after nearly seventeen years apart. He forgot about the computer and the decryption program. His brother, the brother who had been lost for his entire life, was here.

Then he realised. He'd just seen Marina fooled by the illusion of her dead loved ones walking into the room. Now Davor was trying to fool him with the exact same thing. It had almost worked. For a minute Dominic had been ready to leap out of his seat, abandoning the computer search, and run across the room towards his brother. Now he stopped himself from rising, and put his mind back on the computers. He ignored the illusion of his twin.

"My brother," came Recyclo's voice. "Don't you know me?"

Dominic said nothing.

"Why are you ignoring me?"

"Because you're not real. You're not really here. You're an illusion."

"I am no illusion, brother."

"Yes, you are. You're here to distract me from using the computer. Davor knows I'm about to find his secret files, and he's terrified of what I might read in there. That's why he got Marina away from the computers. Now he's trying to do the same to me. It isn't going to work."

"I commend your resolve, but it isn't necessary," Recyclo said. "As I said, I'm not an illusion."

Dominic turned to look at him. The twins' eyes met and held. Dominic felt something he'd never felt before. He couldn't put his finger on what it was. He couldn't even describe the type of feeling. He didn't know what it was, but he did know one thing. This was no illusion. There was no way that Davor could have faked up the emotions he was feeling now.

This really was Recyclo.


	28. Chapter Twenty Seven: The Eternal One

"Gemini!"

"Cassie! Are you guys OK?"

Gemini hurried towards her best friend.

"Wait a minute!" Pyro shouted in alarm. "She might be an illusion! How do we know if she's real?"

"She's real," said Logan. "That Russian bastard can't fake up a scent that will fool me."

"He's Czech, not Russian," Scott corrected.

"Big difference."

Cassandra and Gemini hugged each other tightly, sharing their relief that they were both safe. Pyro couldn't help but smile as he saw them. He remembered when he'd first recruited Cassandra from the orphanage where she'd spent her childhood. He remembered how unsettled and unhappy Gemini had become at being the only girl on an island increasingly full of males. He remembered deciding that, no matter what, his next recruit had to be a girl, a friend for the duplicating child who would become his teenage daughter. And so he had sought out Cassandra. The two girls had become friends at first sight, and their years living together had only brought them closer. He thought: _it must be good to have such a close friend…I wouldn't know…_

Gary approached the larger group, feeling a little apprehensive. He still wasn't quite comfortable with the X-Men. They'd been his teachers once, then his enemies. He'd fought against them with every last drop of passion and anger in his soul, along with the burning, undying hatred he'd felt for humanity. Now that they were his teachers and nominally his guardians once more, it wasn't easy to come to terms with. Annie or Marina were normally around to act as a sort of bridge between him and Xavier's people, but neither of them was present right now. His only real friend here was Gemini. Pyro seemed to have lost all faith and interest, if any, he'd once had in Gladiator.

"Are you all right?" Shock asked him.

"Fine," he said brusquely. "Where's my mum and dad?"

Everyone glanced around. Neil and Chloe were not present.

"That's weird, I thought they were right here," said Rogue.

"They were," said Logan.

"Where'd they go?" asked Gemini.

Scott looked at Gary, "You have Annie's telepathy now, right? Can you sense them?"

"No. The constantium – "

"Yeah, yeah, we know," Logan said impatiently. "It stops you from being even remotely useful."

"Does that makes us equals then?" Gary snapped. "At least temporarily."

"So where's Neil?" Shock interrupted them. "Do you think he got caught in an illusion and went off someplace else?"

"What about Chloe?" someone asked.

"They must be here somewhere," said Scott. "Look. I don't think we have time to worry about them. I think we have to concentrate on finding Davor. The longer he's free to cast illusions, the more danger we'll be in."

Cassandra spoke up, "Any word from Dominic? Do we know how to stop the submarine?"

The X-Men looked at her blankly, "Submarine?"

"You haven't _told_ them?" the foreseer exclaimed to Gemini.

Gemini gasped, "I forgot! With everything that's going on my mind, I like totally forgot!"

"What haven't you told us?" Scott demanded.

Gary was the one who answered, "Davor built a submarine, made of constantium, and he's launched it towards Europe. It's equipped with a drill that will bore its way through the foundations of an entire continent!"

"The resulting seismic shift will kill millions!" Cassandra cried. "And it won't stop there – it'll hit Asia, and then North America! We have less than an hour before it hits Britain!"

"So how the hell do we stop it?" Logan snapped.

"Aqua is working on it! She's trying to hack into the computers to find any information on the sub!"

"How long will that take? Is she any good?"

Shapeshifter bit his lip, "She's good…but I don't think she's good enough. I don't know if anybody could do it in this short space of time."

* * *

Recyclo's fingers flashed across the computer keyboard at seemingly impossible speed, his dull grey eyes fixed intently on the screen in front of him. He was typing entirely by touch, without even looking at the keys. 

"You realise I have a thousand and one questions to ask you," his brother's voice came from over his shoulder. "But that can wait. Can you get into his files?"

"I already did."

Dominic pulled up a seat to read what his twin had found. He glanced over to the corner, where Marina was still trapped in the illusion of her parents. _Should I pull her out now? Surely the longer she's in the illusion, the more it will hurt when it ends? Or should I leave her? Perhaps she'll figure it out for herself, that it can't possibly be real. That way it will hurt less than if I forcibly pull her out. What do I do? I wish Annie were here. She would know what to do. She's always been the one who understands Marina's condition._

He forced himself to turn his mind to other things. He faced the computer screen.

"What do we have?" he asked his brother.

"It talks about something called constantium," Recyclo answered. "Do you know what that is?"

"Yes."

"Anything else?"

"I'm not sure…do you know of a ship called the _Survival_?"

Dominic thought for a minute, "Yeah, I do. That's the name of Davor's submarine! We saw that name on the plans Annie photographed!"

"There are several files here about it."

"Listen, Recyclo, the submarine is about to drill its way through the foundations of half the countries in the northern hemisphere! Don't ask me to explain right now; we don't have time! Does it say how to stop the submarine, how to switch it off?"

"Give me a moment. In the meantime, you can read the files about constantium. Go to the printer, over there."

He hit a sequence of keys and the printer began spitting out pages, the contents of the files. Dominic hurried over to grab them. While Recyclo searched through the files detailing the specifics of the submarine, Helios began to scan the print-out, trying to find something new about constantium, that might explain the lengths to which Davor was going.

* * *

Gary knew he couldn't go on any further. The constantium's nullifying power over his telepathy was interfering with all of his mental processes and destroying his concentration. He was weaving uncertainly, walking into people and walls, losing his footing, and was in danger of blacking out. 

"You should wait here," Cassandra told him.

"He isn't coming with us?" Gemini said in dismay. "But we need him! He's, like, the most powerful mutant in the world!"

Logan snorted. Gary sighed, "Cassie's right. I can't go on. I'll have to stay here and wait for you."

He was angry and frustrated at not being able to go on with the rest. He was the strongest, he was the one who had destroyed the Apocalypse, _he_ should be the one who went on and defeated Davor. Remaining here felt like giving up. Remaining here and passing the job on to those weaker than himself, felt like cowardice.

_It's common sense, not cowardice,_ the part of Annie that was inside him said

They'd met Atlas a few minutes ago, and Gary turned to him, "Where's my sister? I'll join up with her."

So Atlas told him. Gary bit his lip and fought to keep his frustration bottled while the others went on without him. If he had never absorbed Annie's powers, this wouldn't be happening! He wouldn't have any telepathic abilities and he wouldn't be susceptible to constantium's blocking effects. He would be able to go on with the others and help protect Cassie and Gemini. He didn't care about the X-Men. They could take care of themselves. They always seemed to think they knew better, so it was time to prove it.

He headed in the direction Atlas had indicated. He hoped he'd find Annie soon. His sister was one of the few people he was really comfortable with. Maybe it was because of the blending they had done – were still doing – but he found he didn't like being separated from Annie. Perhaps because, after all, there was a part of him inside her now.

The sign on one of the doors caught his eye as he passed. Intrigued, Gary tried the door. It was locked, but didn't stand up to his fists for very long. He stepped inside and looked around.

* * *

"He's in here," Logan said, as he sniffed the air in the corridor. 

He was indicating a door on the right.

"Where does it go?" Scott asked.

Gemini answered, "It opens the way to the constantium research lab where I met my – um, never mind."

"So he must be heading for the constantium," said Iceman.

"Is there any other way out of there?" Logan said.

Cassandra shook her head, "No. We explored in here earlier. This is the only way in. The door will be sealed. To open it you'll need to use this card – "

But Logan had already slashed the door open with his claws. Ducking through the resulting hole, he led the way inside. Scott looked at Rogue and Shapeshifter, "You guys stay here and guard this exit. You kids stay with them."

"We're not kids!" Gemini protested. "Dad, tell him – !"

"He's right, honey," Pyro told her. "Stay here."

She folded her arms impatiently, "All right, fine. Call me if you need help!"

Vertigo was still struggling with the bullet wound in his shoulder. Atlas, whose knowledge of herbs and plants gave him limited skill as a medic, was applying a herbal remedy to the injury. Gemini watched unhappily as Pyro hurried after the remaining X-Men into the heart of the laboratory complex. She didn't want to be apart from Dad, but he'd given her an order. Would she be safe without him? Would he be safe? Could he trust the X-Men not to stab him in the back when he wasn't expecting it? Yes. Of course he could. The X-Men weren't as bad as she'd once thought. Cyclops had pulled her out of the nightmare illusion, hadn't he? He wouldn't have done that if he didn't care for her. She'd hated him once, but she knew she could never hate him again.

Logan, Scott, Bobby, Fliss and Pyro hurried through the laboratories, following the scent of Davor. Logan could tell the illusionist had been here, just minutes ago, which meant they had to be catching up. None of them exactly knew how they would confront him when they found him, but they weren't worrying about that right now. Time was of the essence. If what the kids had said about the submarine was true, then they had less than half an hour before the lives of millions could be ended by the actions of the undersea drill. The drill itself wouldn't do that much damage, but then, it wouldn't need to. Only a tiny imbalance in the undersea foundations of the land above would be required to cause a catastrophic seismic shift that could change the face of the planet forever.

"Over here!" Logan announced, pointing to a door on the left.

The door was labelled **CONSTANTIUM RESEARCH LAB. HIGH SECURITY. AUTHORISED PERSONNEL ONLY**. Logan snarled angrily as his claws shot out, and he cut a huge gouge into the surface of the door.

At least, that had been his intention. To his disbelief, and to the dismay of everyone present, his claws made no impact on the door, not even scratching the surface.

"Shit!" he swore.

"The door _itself_ must be made of constantium!" Iceman exclaimed.

Pyro stepped forward, holding the security card his daughter had given him. He swiped it through the lock, but nothing happened. Trying again, he once more met with failure.

"Dammit, Davor must have reset the security codes!"

Scott pushed him aside, "All right, stand back!"

Raising one hand to his visor, he fired an optic blast at the door. It had no effect. Felicity's arm lifted, and a jagged fork of lightning crackled through the air. Bobby hit it with a jet of ice, and Pyro hurled a fireball towards it, but the door remained untouched, as if they hadn't even attacked it.

"Shit, we can't get in!" Logan snapped. "Anyone got any bright ideas?"

"To hell with it," said Scott.

Pulling his visor away from his eyes, he opened them and unleashed the full force of his devastating optic power. The others watched as the ruby beams burned into the door's surface, each of the mutants willing with every fibre of their being that the door would collapse and shatter into a million pieces.

It wasn't working. When Scott finally closed his eyes and replaced the visor, they could see that the constantium surface was still untouched.

"Any _more_ bright ideas?"

"The surrounding walls," said Pyro. "The door itself might be constantium, but I'll bet the walls aren't. We can find another way in."

But the walls surrounding the constantium lab proved to be just as impenetrable as the door. Try as they might, none of the five mutants could make a single impression.

"There must be another way to get in there!" Shock said in desperation.

"There isn't," Logan snapped. "That Cassandra kid told us, remember."

"Aqua's using the computers," said Pyro. "Get her to find a map of the facility and see if there's another entry."

Scott agreed, and reached for his communicator. Just as his hand touched it, it began vibrating – there was another call coming. He answered quickly, "Who is it?"

"It's Dominic! Listen, forget about Davor! He doesn't matter for the moment! The submarine is the real threat! We have to stop the submarine!"

"How?"

"It's going to hit Ireland in thirty minutes if we don't do something! We think we know how to stop it, but we have to get out there _now_!"

"In thirty minutes?" said Logan.

"Shit!" Scott swore. "All right, forget about Davor! He's locked himself up in there and I think we can safely bet he'll stay there! We have to move! Come on!"

* * *

Marina gasped as the illusion suddenly vanished, and she was thrown abruptly back into the harsh cruelty of the real world. 

"M – Mom? D – Dad?" she cried.

"Marina!" came a man's voice, as he put his hands on her shoulders to steady her.

Her eyes focused on him, and she begged, "Where's my Mom and Dad?"

"Marina!" Scott ordered. "Snap out of it! It isn't real! We need you to focus!"

She felt tears creeping into the corners of her eyes, "They're dead, aren't they?"

"Look, I'm sorry, we don't have time for that! You have to come with us!"

"No-o-o…" she sobbed. "Mom! Dad!"

"She's lost it," Logan said impatiently. "We need another plan."

"We don't _have_ another plan," said Helios. "We need Marina. She's the only one who can do it!"

"Come on, honey," Fliss said gently, taking Marina by the arm and leading her to the exit.

The shellshocked, tear-sodden girl blindly followed her. The normally atheist Scott closed his eyes for a moment. It was time to pray. Marina was the only one who could stop the submarine, and Davor's illusion had put her on the very edge of an emotional collapse. If God felt like giving them some divine inspiration any time soon, well, that would be very welcome. They hurried from the computer room to where they had parked the jet.

* * *

Davor Rosiçky watched the security monitors until the jet had left, heading north-east at a speed that could not possibly be safe. Idly he wondered if they would lose power and crash into the Atlantic Ocean. That would be ideal. Not that he had ever really viewed them as a serious threat…but it was always gratifying to see an opponent fall short in the pursuit of their objective. Putting Xavier's pathetic proteges out of his mind, he turned his attention to other things. Anger rose in him as he tried to pinpoint exactly when things had started to go wrong. 

Well, that was obvious. The day he had met Charles Xavier. The only man who had never been fooled by Davor's illusions. Xavier's penetrating mind had seen inside him, and had seen things that Davor had always tried to hide. His obsessive thirst for success, that overtook every other desire in his body. His impatience with those who didn't believe in his work, and who refused to help him. His insistence on doing everything as quickly as possible, regardless of how many rules and principles had to broken along the way.

_Well, is that important?_ Davor thought to himself_, my work is the most important thing that has ever existed. That is undeniable. Xavier was a fool. He knew my ideas were sound, but he disliked my methods. He seemed to think that we should allow other people to take precedence over ourselves. A noble philosophy, perhaps, but hardly appropriate in my case. He never realised that the methods don't matter, as long as the goals are achieved! Does it really matter how you get somewhere, as long as you get there? And we have so little time! How are we expected to reach greatness in the span of a single human lifetime? It is not possible. _

_But for me, that will not be a problem. For me, and for those few who have chosen to believe in me, time will no longer be an issue. Xavier is dead, and he died having achieved nothing. His idea of a school for mutants was laudable, certainly, but surely he must have seen its worthlessness! Where are his students now? I can destroy them all in a single swoop! Everything he worked for could be wiped out in a second! Xavier was born with awesome power yet he never used it! The man was a fool of the highest order. To think that such an amazing gift should be bestowed on him by a simple accident of birth. What did he do to deserve his power? Nothing._

_I, on the other hand, have worked for years to reach the position I am in now. I did not always possess this mutant power. When I met Stryker and discovered his son's ability, I knew it was the key to my goals. Stryker's wife may have died, and his son may have become a vegetable, but what of it? I gained the power I needed. My need was greater than theirs. Of course, Xavier had worked with Stryker's son in the past, and word of my actions must have reached him. He became suspicious of me. When Anna became pregnant, Xavier must have guessed my intentions for the child. But he was not fast enough to stop me. My wife may have died giving birth to the creature, but her sacrifice was acceptable. The child was needed for my experiment. How ironic that the child should survive and become another of Xavier's students. And how ironic that he should be my method of finally deceiving Charles into believing me to be dead._

_But that was when things started to go wrong. Stryker finally lost his mind over what happened to his son, and he lashed out his anger at the mutants. I had plans for Lehnsherr. If only Stryker's rashness hadn't resulted in Lehnsherr's escape. But there was nothing I could do at that time. I watched with amusement as they fought their little battles, none of them realising that all they were doing was strengthening my own position. It was unfortunate Dr Grey was killed…I had plans for her too._

_Unfortunate also that so much of my work is dependent on the involuntary participation of young children. They think me a monster who preys on infants. That is not the case. It is simply that experiments involving the human or mutant body must safely be tested on an infant before it is safe for use on an adult. I can understand why people disapprove of my using children in this way, but they do not understand the importance of my work. If a small number of lives have to be sacrificed, what is that to me? The duplicating child made a perfect experimental subject. The right age, the right size, and with nobody to ask awkward questions about her disappearance. As for my other exploits with her…well, it was necessary. I require a certain amount of sexual satisfaction for my mind to function at an optimum level._

_And that was when I almost lost everything I had ever worked for. Somehow Lehnsherr found out about the child. Allerdyce took me by surprise and destroyed the laboratory where she was kept. The fool! If only he knew what wonders of science he almost consigned to oblivion for all eternity! And all for one insignificant child! Why do people place so much value on others' lives? I simply don't understand! If we can use animals in experiments, why cannot we also use people? My work is vital to human prosperity, certainly more important than the lives of a small number of unwanted children! Why can nobody else see as clearly as I can? Why are they all blinded by their own stupidity? Why are they all deluded, naïve fools like Xavier? Why can they not **see**?_

He crossed the laboratory to a sealed compartment, and pressed his fingerprint against a small pad beside it. Recognising his scan, the electronic lock opened and the compartment slid open. Davor lifted out what was inside.

Ah well. They will see soon enough…

* * *

"I have it on radar!" Chris shouted, startling everybody else in the jet. "I have the submarine on radar!" 

"How far?" Scott asked curtly.

"It'll take us three more minutes to catch up with it."

"How long until it hits Ireland?"

"Ten minutes."

"Shit, this is gonna be close," Logan muttered.

Gemini clamoured for attention, "I don't get it! Tell me again what the plan is!"

Pyro said, "We think Aqua can alter the water pressure around the submarine to destroy it. If not, she should at least be able to divert its course."

"Fliss, get Marina ready," Scott told her.

Shock hurried to the back of the compartment where her adopted daughter sat, hugging her legs close to her, her eyes staring unseeing at the wall in front of her. She didn't respond when Fliss approached, and she flinched when she felt her foster mother's arm put around her shoulders.

"Marina honey," Fliss said gently. "I know you're hurting, but you have to be strong. You have to forget about it, just for a little while, and help us stop the submarine. Marina? Can you do that for us?"

Marina said, "I want my mom and dad."

"Marina…"

"Where are they? Why aren't they here? Where did they go? They were here a minute ago…"

"Honey, they're gone."

"Where have they gone?"

Fliss hated herself for saying it, "Marina, they're dead. You know that. What just happened wasn't real. It was an illusion designed to distract you."

"No…they can't be dead…I _saw_ them…I held them…they told me they loved me…"

"Honey – "

Marina squirmed away, and curled into a ball, hiding her face and sobbing. Fliss' heart sank to the floor. This was exactly how Marina had been when they'd first adopted her. She'd been doing so well…she'd recovered so much…she'd been on the road to mental stability…and now she had lost that, perhaps forever.

"We're almost on top of the submarine!" came Chris' voice. "Is Marina ready?"

Fliss lightly touched her daughter's shoulder, but Marina only drew herself in more tightly, and pushed everything else out.

"Now! We can't lose any more time!" Scott yelled. "Marina? Go!"

"Honey!" Fliss urged, gently shaking her. "We need you to stop the submarine! You're the only one who can do it!"

But Marina didn't even respond. She was as she had been before, a shell that held a person deep inside, but a person who never came out of the shell, and who couldn't be reached from outside.

"What's the hold-up?" Logan demanded. "Marina! Get down there! People are going to _die_!"

"There's no use yelling at her, she can't hear you!" Fliss snapped. "This is Davor's doing! He's destroyed her mind and sent her back into her trauma! She can't do anything to help us!"

"So what do we do?"

"I don't know! Scott? Pyro?"

Before either of them could respond, Chris yelled, "Shit! Brace for impact!"

Instinctively each of them tried to grab hold of something. Seconds later the jet was struck by a hammer blow, and they were thrown across its interior, colliding painfully with the opposite wall.

"What was _that_?" Gemini screamed. "Dad, what happened?"

Chris scrambled back into his seat in front of the communications panel, "We have incoming! Fighter planes!"

"_What_?"

"Hold on!"

The jet was hit by another strike, but they were prepared this time, and managed to keep their footing.

"Damage report!" Scott yelled.

Iceman was scanning one of the consoles, "We're still intact, but the engines are losing power!"

"Who's attacking us? Is it Davor?"

Chris shook his head, "It's the RAF!"

"The what?" said Gemini.

"The British air force! The humans must have detected the submarine as well! They must think it's _ours_!"

"Maybe they know how to destroy it!" said Atlas.

"We're losing power!" Iceman announced. "We're dropping!"

Scott swore, "We're gonna hit the water hard! Assume crash positions!"

But before any of them could do so, the jet was struck by the fighters once more. This time there was an explosion in the rear section, and a gaping hole was suddenly torn out of the fuselage. Fliss screamed as she and Marina were flung from their seats towards the breach.

"No!" Chris yelled as the two of them disappeared through the opening.

"Hold on!" Scott commanded over the sound of the wind roaring through the hole.

Pyro grabbed Gemini to prevent her from going the same way. She clutched him in terror and shouted something, but he couldn't make it out over the noise. Wrestling with the increasingly unresponsive controls, Scott finally managed to bring the jet out of its nosedive and on to a more even trajectory. Nevertheless the impact when they hit the ocean was not small, and they were thrown about once more. Buffeted and bruised, each of them looked over fearfully at the breach. Mercifully, it was on the top of the fuselage, not the bottom, and as such they were not taking on water.

"Fliss! Marina!" Chris yelled as he hurried over towards the opening.

"Where are those fighter planes?" Scott demanded.

Pyro found himself next to the abandoned communications console, "They're circling round to hit us again."

"Bobby, do what you can!"

Iceman nodded, and flung open the emergency hatch above his head. Climbing out on to the top of the jet, he turned to face the oncoming British aircraft. The two RAF fighters showed no signs of mercy towards their fallen prey. It was quite disconcerting to think the humans had just shot them down without provocation, but in the current crazy situation, who could be blamed for acting without thinking? The fighters each launched another missile, and wheeled away to begin another pass. Bobby waited until the two missiles were in range, and a quick blast of ice froze both of them in mid-air. They fell harmlessly into the ocean. He'd bought himself a few minutes until the fighters came round again.

Inside, Scott was desperately trying to get the jet moving again. The engines were offline and the breach in the fuselage would seriously impair their movement. Chris was peering frantically through one of the view-ports, trying to see what had become of Fliss and Marina. There was no sign of either of them.

"No!" he howled.

"Can we communicate with the fighters?" Rogue was saying. "We have to tell we're not the threat, the submarine is! How long till it's in position to start drilling?"

"Five minutes, maybe less," said Pyro. "And talking to the humans won't do any good! They won't listen!"

"We have to try _something_!"

"Well, good luck. The power's down!"

"We need a miracle," said Logan.

* * *

Marina's mind had suddenly snapped back into focus the moment she had hit the water. She had no idea how she'd got there. Her last cogent memory was of seeing her parents in the computer room. That hadn't been real. Of course it hadn't been real! It had been Davor taking advantage of her condition to cast an illusion! Since then she had been living in the dream he'd implanted in her mind. But now that she was in the water, her mental processes suddenly began to function with clarity, and her nervousness and trauma were pushed aside. She was back in her own environment now. She was at ease here. 

She needed to get an idea of the situation. Kicking her legs, she swam upwards until her head broke the surface. She shook the water from her face and looked around. Taking in the situation in an instant, she saw Iceman freezing two missiles that had been aimed at the fallen jet. Two fighters were circling around. And not far away, she could see Shock, desperately clinging on to a piece of wreckage and trying to swim towards the jet. Marina swam over to help her.

"Fliss!" she cried. "It's all right, take hold of me!"

"Marina! Honey, are you all right?"

"I'm fine! Don't worry, my mind's OK as long as I'm in the water! Take my arm and I'll swim you across!"

"No! Forget about me! The submarine is about to hit Ireland! Get down there and stop it! I'll make my own way!"

"Fliss…"

"Marina, go! Now!"

Without hesitating, Marina obeyed. Ducking beneath the surface, she streaked down through the ice-cold water, swimming as fast as she could, until ahead of her she could see it. The submarine, nothing more than a dark, menacing shape in the murky depths, moved rapidly and unerringly through the water. Marina swam with frantic speed to try and catch up with it. Could she destroy it by increasing the water pressure around its hull? Or would the constantium stand up to that?

She was level with the sub now, and with an extra burst of speed she managed to pull ahead. She looked back now at the terrifying sight of the constantium drill on the submarine's nose, turning with unfeasible rapidity through the water, threatening to cut through anything and everything in its path. Marina knew she had to stop it. She couldn't let it kill any more innocent people. She had to divert it away from Britain, and then find a way to destroy it for good. Marina took a deep breath, and prepared herself. The submarine silently knifed through the water directly towards her. Focusing her power on its starboard side, she manipulated the water pressure to push it off course. At first there was no visible sign of success, but then she could clearly see that the sub was veering off to port. It was working!

But it was still heading towards the Irish coast. On its present course it would veer past Scotland altogether, and head for the North Pole. If the stability of the magnetic pole was disrupted, the Earth's entire surface could be devastated. If Marina couldn't divert the sub any further, then she had just made things even worse. She feared for her friends up above. Were they safe? Were the fighters still attacking? Had they managed to get the jet back in the air? As much as it hurt to do so, Marina forced herself to forget about her friends. She needed every last fibre of her concentration to focus on the problem at hand. If the sub couldn't be stopped, it didn't matter if her friends managed to fend off the fighter planes.

She pushed the submarine to port with every last vestige of her water power. There! It was done! The submarine had now turned full circle and was pointing west. That was still bad – it was now heading toward America – but at least they now had time to find a way to destroy it. Marina kicked her legs as she swam after the submarine, keeping pace with it, ready to use her power to try and disable it. Theoretically, if she increased the water pressure around it, it would eventually buckle and collapse. She knew constantium was strong, but surely it wasn't strong enough to defy the powers of gravity itself.

* * *

Davor Rosiçky checked that he had everything he needed before making his bid for freedom. Using the submarine to lure Xavier's fools away had worked. It had always been intended as a last ace up his sleeve, and it had proved effective. Now the coast was clear to disappear. When the explosives hidden deep within the facility went off, there would be no evidence left of anything he had done. The constantium would survive…but all of the purest samples were being taken with him. He would then be free to restart his research at a secret location. He would probably have to cut all contact with the rest of the Twelve – it would be too risky to maintain close ties – but they didn't matter. They had served their purpose, just like everybody else. Davor had never really intended to share the results of his work with them. 

And when they are long dead, and I live on, I shall look back and laugh. The strongest beings on this Earth have tried to stand in my way, and not one of them has succeeded. Perhaps they will realise that it is not having strength which counts, it is having the guile to use one's strength to best effect. I think Xavier is the only other man who truly appreciated that fact, and that was what made him dangerous to me. But he is gone now, he is dead, as they will all be. No matter how many years it takes, and I will outlive them, and my genius shall continue unto eternity.

The secret of eternal life had been his single-minded obsession since he was twenty years old. He knew it had to be possible to slow down or even stop the mechanism by which the human body aged. After all, the human body is only a machine. An organic, highly advanced, self-repairing and self-replicating machine, but a machine nonetheless. Its mode of operation can be manipulated. Switching off the ageing process wasn't quite as simple as flicking a button, but the underlying principle was the same.

His first foray into achieving immortality had been through the use of mutant powers. Mutations were evidence that the human body had many different abilities, most of which lay dormant in the majority of people. If there was some kind of 'switch' that controlled ageing, then surely a mutation could be a way to trigger it. He'd experimented with implanting mutations artificially into children. If he could force a child's body to change the way it functioned through the introduction of mutations, then all he had to was find the mutation which would control ageing. He thought he'd found it, but instead his discovery turned out merely to provide a restorative ability, a 'healing power'.

He tried again, with other subjects, but it didn't take him any further. Perhaps mutation was a dead end as far as his research was concerned. Perhaps he had to look at things from a different angle. Perhaps there was another way by which the human body could be altered. Of course there was, and it was incredibly obvious when it finally occurred to him: radiation. Radiation had the power to modify a substance on a sub-atomic level, changing molecules into other molecules. Could this power be harnessed to change the human body and stop the ageing process? It had taken years of secretive research, hiding from those who believed him dead, but he finally was in a position to test his theory in an experiment.

He called them the Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Four genetically created beings with mutant powers, ostensibly engineered as mutant warriors for anti-terrorist use. But Davor had other ideas. Choosing two of the four creatures, he subjected them to a dose of radiation designed to alter their bodies in the way he wanted. It was a risky process. Well, all experiments were, but this one even more so. There were still a lot of unknowns. It was entirely possible that it wouldn't work at all, and the creatures would simply die.

But the procedure turned out to be a total success. Two of the Horsemen were changed into immortal beings. One of them remained radioactive and forever untouchable, but that did not concern Davor. He didn't intend the Horsemen ever to live any kind of normal lives. He'd been ready to exterminate those two, and try to repeat the procedure on the others. However, things had become complicated. A group of mutants had attacked the laboratory where the Horsemen and the experimental equipment were kept. The laboratory had been destroyed, and Davor's research had been thrown back to square one.

Well, not exactly square one. He had already begun look into a third possible method of conquering the ageing process. He had got the idea from reading over some of William Stryker's reports on the experiments carried out on the mutant known as Wolverine. The mutant had had adamantium grafted to his bones, and a natural healing ability added to his body's defences. But those details were not what concerned Davor. What really interested him was the fact that the mutant's ageing appeared to have slowed. Was it something to do with the healing power? That seemed unlikely. The healing power Davor had implanted into his own son did not appear to have had any effects on _his_ ageing.

Or was it because of the adamantium? Was that somehow affecting the rate at which Wolverine's body aged? Was it because the adamantium was permanently present inside his body, that he grew older at a much slower rate than those around him? Davor had no idea how many years the mutant had been alive for. Stryker's notes didn't say. But he guessed it was many more than the mutant's appearance would suggest.

So he hypothesised that adamantium somehow had the ability to slow down ageing. That was good, but it wasn't good enough. Davor wanted to go one step further, and stop the ageing process altogether. Was there a way to do that? Was there a way to create a material like adamantium, only one that would have even greater power over the ageing process?

Yes.

There was.

He called it constantium.

And now he was ready to implant it into his own body, and live forever.


	29. Chapter 28: The Sorceror's Apprentice

The first of the explosives went off as Davor was hurrying through the ocean labs to the hangar where the remaining two X-jets were held captive. The foundations of the building were already unstable from the flooding of the lower levels, and he stumbled and lost his balance as the facility was rocked by the force of the blast. Grabbing for something to hold on to, Davor caught his hand on a jagged metal strut. He gave a gasp of pain as blood was drawn, but it didn't slow down his hurry towards the jets. Climbing into the interior of one of them, he placed the case he was carrying on to one of the seats, and strapped it carefully into place. It contained all of the equipment he would need to implant the constantium into his body. Even if everything else were lost, this was all he needed to realise his dream of living forever.

He flicked the switches that would bring the engines online and ready to leave. Strange. Nothing happened. He tried it again, but the jet's systems weren't responding. Somewhat puzzled, he ran down the embarkation ramp to investigate the jet's exterior. He was no expert on aircraft systems, but he knew enough to tell what the problem was here. The engine was no longer connected to the power source. Someone had detached the connection. But who…

Mystique kicked him in the side of the head, knocking him to the floor. Too shocked to respond, Davor could do nothing as she grabbed him by the shoulders, holding him down, holding him immobile on the floor. Slowly she lifted her knee on top of his throat, and began to push it down on to his windpipe. Davor struggled, but the woman was too strong.

"How does it feel?" she hissed. "How does it feel to be the one who's being held down and helpless? How does it feel to know what's coming and not be able to do anything about it?"

Davor would have replied if her knee hadn't been crushing his throat and preventing him from speaking. Unable to breathe, his struggles became more violent. Mystique only increased her own grip on his shoulders, forcing him downwards. She hoped he remembered all the times he had held down poor little Gemini while he violated her. She hoped that was going through his mind now, in his last few seconds of life. She hoped that Gemini would be able to sleep easier at night in the knowledge that this monster was dead. She hoped that Erik, wherever he was now, would forgive her for not disposing more quickly of the charlatan who had tried to disgrace Erik's name.

With his last ounce of strength, Davor cast an illusion. He had no time to pinpoint Mystique's deepest most painful feelings, and produce an image to terrify her beyond thought. He cast the simplest illusion he could think of: a group of armed men running towards her, ready to fire. Caught by surprise, Mystique didn't realise it was an illusion until she was already halfway across the room and diving for cover. In that time, Davor reacted with lightning speed to reconnect the jet's engines to the power source, and hurry into the aircraft's interior. Even as Mystique got back to her feet to try and stop him, the jet began ascending into the air, and within moments it was gone, disappearing out of the hangar and into the sky outside.

Mystique cursed. How could she have come so close to killing him and yet still seen him escape? Why could the bastard not be brought to justice for what he had done? She knew she couldn't give up. She had to track the jet and find out where he was going. In her explorations she'd discovered a radar and comm. room not far from here. She went there now.

To her dismay, she found that the ocean labs were already swarming with human troops. The sub-creatures must have worked out where the constantium submarine had come from. They must have come here to apprehend whoever was responsible. If they found mutants inside the ocean labs…well, their small brains wouldn't need to do much deduction. Mystique didn't know for sure if the X-Men were still here, but if so she had to warn them. Enemies they might be, but she had no desire to see them in the custody of the humans. She ripped open one of the communications panels and began setting it up to contact the X-Men.

* * *

Davor Rosiçky tried to get his breathing under control as the jet soared out from the hangar and into freedom beyond. That had been too close for comfort. The blue woman had almost killed him. He had overlooked her…again. And that was not a good sign. It showed he was panicking, forgetting things, and making poor decisions.

_I have to calm down. I have to slow my breathing, rationalise my thoughts, and calm myself completely. Everything is still going according to plan. The blue woman, the metamorph, will be destroyed when the rest of the explosives go off. Then she will be a threat no longer. After that I will see what has become of Xavier's students and their attempts to stop the submarine. I do not particularly care whether they have succeeded. If the people of this world die, what is that to me? I have achieved my goal. I will live forever._

As hard as he tried, he couldn't get his breathing to slow. His heart was now beating uncomfortably fast, and sweat began to break out on his forehead. Davor cursed himself. He was reacting irrationally. Yes, he'd nearly died, but he'd nearly died on previous occasions as well. It wasn't a new experience for him. Or perhaps it was the excitement of finally achieving his goal after so many years. His entire life had been spent in the pursuit of attaining eternal life. And now he was about to do so. Implanting the constantium in his body would cease his ageing, now and forever. He would still be vulnerable to physical harm, but constantium shielding could protect him from that.

Wiping his brow with his sleeve, he found his breathing was still growing ever more rapid. What was _wrong_ with him? His heart was actually beating so fast it was painful. His breath had become ragged gasps, and his limbs were heavy and sluggish. His throat began to constrict, and he could no longer draw breath. His heart pounded so fast and so hard he felt as if it was about to erupt out of his chest. He tried to scream with the pain but nothing would come out of his throat. His vision began to waver, and blur, and then blackness crept in at the sides of his eyes.

He slumped unconscious at the controls, and the jet began to drop out of its steep vertical climb. Gaining speed as it dropped, the aircraft plummeted towards the ground at terminal velocity. Crashing into the cliffs at the edge of the Atlantic ocean, the jet exploded into a fireball.

* * *

"Did it work?" said Chloe anxiously.

"Yes," said Neil. "He's gone."

She breathed a sigh of relief, "So it's over. We're safe."

"From him, yes. I'm not too sure what else is going on right now."

"Mum! Dad!"

They turned to see Annie and Gary hurrying towards them.

"Humans are all over the base!" their son exclaimed. "We have to get out of here before they find us!"

Annie nodded, "We can sense them! Our telepathy seems to be working now. Dad, what about yours?"

"Yes," said Neil. "The pure constantium is gone now. Davor took it with him."

"He got away?" his daughter cried in exasperation.

"He didn't get far. We'll explain in a moment. First thing we need to do is find a way out of here."

"I think I can help you there," came Mystique's voice from behind him. "One of your jets is still here. I can pilot it. Come on!"

Neil, Chloe, Annie and Gary Rosiçky hurried after Mystique, through the ocean labs until they reached the vehicle hangar. As she had stated, one of the X-jets was present.

"We have to leave _now_!" Annie urged the others. "The humans will be here any minute!"

"All right, get on board," said Neil, directing his children up the ramp into the jet's interior. "Mystique, what are you doing?"

"Just a second," she called. "I had to fix the jets so Davor couldn't make a quick getaway. There. I've reconnected the engine to the power source. It's ready to go."

No sooner had she spoken than they heard the sound of many people running towards the hangar. A large group of armed humans appeared in the hangar doorway, and instantly spotted the mutants.

"Drop 'em!" their sergeant yelled.

Mystique reacted quickest, pushing Neil and Chloe to the floor and ducking behind cover herself. A second later, bullets sprayed the area where they had been standing. Chloe rolled over and hurried up into the aircraft. Annie had a basic knowledge of how to pilot it, and was quickly running through the pre-flight checks to make sure it was safe to take off. Neil got back to his feet and had to use his telekinesis to block a hail of bullets coming his way.

"Go! I'll hold them off!" Mystique yelled to him.

"Don't be a fool! There are more of them coming!"

With a telekinetic blast he managed to knock the soldiers off their feet.

"Dad! Come on!" Annie cried from inside the jet.

Running across the room, Mystique was able to hit the controls that sealed the entrance closed, trapping the soldiers outside. It probably wouldn't take them long to get the door back open, but it was long enough for Neil and Mystique to hurry up the ramp and into the jet. The moment they were on board, Annie hit the controls and they took off. Picking up speed, the jet headed for the exit and swooped out into the sky. Behind them they could see that the soldiers had succeeded in breaching the door, but it hardly mattered now.

"We made it!" Gary enthused. "Come on, we have to get after Davor! Where is he anyway?"

"He's dead," said Chloe.

"What! How?"

"I think I'd like to know that too," said Mystique.

"All right," said Neil. "Chloe discovered that the ocean labs contained a small biochemical weapons research division. It was empty when we got there, and we managed to find a sample of lethal bacteria."

"You mean…"

"When Davor was hurrying on his way here, an explosion threw him off balance and he cut his hand on a metal support strut. Or at least, that was what we wanted him to think. The 'explosion' was me hitting him with a telekinetic surge. The metal strut he cut his hand on was smeared with the bacteria."

"You poisoned him?" said Annie. "How could you be sure it'd work?"

"Because bacteria are living creatures, and as such, your mother can control them. The only difficult thing was making sure Davor cut himself on the right area of the strut."

"Brilliant," Annie smiled.

Even the usually cynical Mystique nodded, "I'm impressed."

* * *

Scott swore as, for the second time, the jet's engines burst into life then immediately sputtered and died. He glanced apprehensively at the radar console. The two British fighters were still circling around. They hadn't suffered any further hits since splashing down, so presumably Bobby was managing to hold them off for now. It probably wouldn't be long before the humans summoned reinforcement. Scott wondered if there was any worth in Rogue's suggestion of trying to contact the humans and explaining the situation to them. Pyro was adamant the humans wouldn't listen, but then he would say that, wouldn't he?

One piece of good news had come with the discovery that Marina had managed to divert the submarine away from Britain. Felicity had been fished out of the water not long ago, so she was safe. They had watched the radar display as the submarine, now heading west, moved further and further away from them. There was no sign of Marina, so they guessed she had to still be following it, trying to find a way to destroy it. There was nothing Scott could do but try to get the jet going again. Stranded here in the ocean, they were a sitting duck for attacks from the humans or from Davor.

"I think we've got trouble," said Pyro suddenly. "There's a ship approaching."

"What kind of ship?"

"Naval. Looks like a cruiser. I think it's French."

"They must be trying to stop the submarine as well," said Rogue. "They must know it'll go on and destroy them after it hits Britain."

"Wonderful," said Logan. "So what are we going to do, apart from sit here and wait for them to blow us out of the water?"

"Why don't you sacrifice your life to save us, Wolverine?" said Vertigo sarcastically. "Do us all a favour. I'm sure we'll remember you fondly."

"That's real funny, kid. Remind me to throw you to any sharks who come nosing around."

"Sharks wouldn't eat me. I'm all wiry muscle and no fat."

"All muscle and no brain, more like," said Gemini. "Dad, what are we gonna do? Can we destroy the cruiser?"

"We can't do that!" Rogue protested. "We have to reach a peaceful settlement with the humans! If we attack them, they'll blow us to pieces!"

"They're gonna do that _anyway_!"

The French cruiser continued to bear down on the stranded jet. The British fighters had pulled away and headed back towards land, perhaps to refuel or to call for reinforcements. For the moment it didn't really matter. The cruiser was the real problem now.

"All right, Rogue, try to open communication channels," said Scott finally. "If I can't get the engines back online, talking it over with them may be our only option."

"It won't work," Pyro insisted.

The cruiser fired its first shell towards the stricken aircraft. It landed in the water some yards to the side, but the resulting shockwave buffeted the jet and knocked them to the floor. They knew that had been just a trial shot by the French gunners, to test the wind velocity. The next shot would definitely be much closer.

"Attention! Attention, French warship!" Rogue was yelling into the communicator. "Cease fire, we are not hostile!"

There was no response.

"Shit, I can't speak a word of French," she panicked.

"Oh, give it here," said Pyro impatiently.

Before he could take hold of the communicator, the cruiser fired another shell, which whistled inches overhead and landed in the water a few feet away from the jet's nose. Minutes later a third one was launched, this one smacking down into the ocean just inches to one side, another shockwave flinging them to the floor. The humans were getting closer.

"To hell with this!" Pyro snapped. "Gemini, stay here."

He climbed out of the emergency hatch and on to the top of the jet.The French cruiser was still oncoming, and the distance between the ship and the aircraft was steadily decreasing. Pyro peered across the distance until he could clearly make out the shape of the huge gun at the bow of the cruiser. As he watched, it fired again. He dropped to the floor and the shell hissed past inches above his head. As it did so, he began counting. He knew the military precision with which these firing drills were carried out. He knew the time taken to load and fire each shell would be exactly the same every time. When the next shell was launched – again landing too close for comfort – he had calculated the amount of time it would be before the next one was fired.

He stood. He had to time this just right. Flicking on his lighter, he summoned a fireball into his hand. Counting down until the next shell was due to be fired, he carefully glided the fireball through the air towards the cruiser's main gun. Timing its journey to perfection, he thrust the ball of flame down the gun's barrel just as the next shell was fired. The gun exploded, hurling men through the air, and further explosions ensued as the gun's ammunition store was also ignited. One explosion tore a huge hole in the side of the vessel, and the French cruiser began taking on water. Pyro smirked, and climbed back down into the jet.

"Way to go, Dad!" Gemini squealed, hugging him with relief.

"I've almost got the engines ready," said Scott. "Pyro, that was _not_ smart. It may have been our only chance of survival, but all it's done is get the humans mad. We have no chance of a peaceful settlement now."

"He saved our lives!" Gemini retorted. "Who cares if the humans get pissed off? They attacked us to start with!"

"Yes, but if they find out we're mutants, this could spark off a major campaign us. It would put every mutant in danger."

"In that case, now would be a good time to disappear before they find out who we are," said Logan. "Are we ready to go?"

"I think so. If I just – oh, shit! _No_!"

"What?"

"The engines just gave out again! I thought I'd got them back!"

"Cyclops, we're sitting ducks here!"

"I know! I'll have to try again. Be patient!"

"There are more ships approaching," said Chris, back at the radar console. "We're in shit, Scott, if we can't get in the air within the next few minutes."

"Just bear with me…"

Logan muttered, "If we need to lose some weight, I can suggest a few people I wouldn't mind throwing overboard…"

"No, no, you should sacrifice your_self_, Logan," said Vertigo mockingly. "You are the great hero, after all."

"Cyclops, can I throw him overboard? Please? Nobody will miss him."

"Damn it!" Scott yelled in frustration. "I've lost the engines! We'll never get in the air!"

His mind was taken back to a time before when this had happened, stuck in the unresponsive jet, right in the path of certain destruction. Only Jean's sacrifice had saved all of their lives on that occasion…but she was not here to do the same thing a second time. There had to be something he could do. There had to be some way to get the jet in the air. The engines were a write-off; his desperate attempts to get them started had burned them out.

Then he had a brainwave.

"Bobby – freeze the water around about us. That'll stop the ships from getting close."

"You got it!"

Iceman had just climbed up through the emergency hatch, when Chris suddenly shouted, "No, wait – there's an aircraft coming!"

"Shit, those fighters are back!" said Logan.

"Hurry, Bobby, before the fighters get here!"

But Iceman's voice came back down through the hatch, calm and relieved, "There's no need…come up and see for yourselves."

Intrigued, Scott and the rest climbed out to join him on top of the ruined jet. And then they saw the reason for his sudden relief. The aircraft Chris had picked up on radar hadn't been the fighters returning. With the flotilla of human vessels still in the distance, another of the black X-jets was performing a water landing mere feet away from its stranded sister. The hatch on top was thrown open, and Annie Rosiçky's head and shoulders emerged, beckoning them across.

* * *

"Crusader!" Gemini squealed excitedly as she climbed down into the interior of the second jet. "Gladiator! _Mystique_!"

Running across to the cockpit area, she hugged the metamorph tightly. Mystique smiled a little uncertainly and patted the teenager on the back. She was still somewhat bemused by her apparent adoption as Gemini's mother.

"What happened with Davor?" Scott asked. "Is he still holed up in his laboratory?"

"No, he's dead," said Neil.

The others stopped and looked at him.

"_Really_? What happened?"

So Oculus told them. But Pyro wasn't convinced, "Hang on a minute – how do you know he's really gone? That it wasn't another illusion?"

"Because we attacked him in such a way that he didn't even realise he _was_ being attacked. By the time the bacteria got inside him, it was already too late. No amount of illusions could have saved him. He thought he was unkillable. He thought he could avoid death simply by deceiving us time and again. In the end it was we who fatally deceived him."

"You're smarter than I thought," said Gemini innocently.

"What about the submarine?" said Scott. "Is it still headed for America?"

Another voice spoke from the rear, "No, it – it's been stopped."

"Marina!" said Chris in relief. "How did you stop it?"

"I – I didn't. The humans did."

"How?"

"They – they intercepted the signal Davor o – originally sent to start the sub moving. They used a similar s – signal to tell it to stop."

Chris and Fliss moved over to where their daughter sat huddled in the corner.

"Are you OK now?" Fliss asked her softly.

Marina averted her eyes, "I – I don't know. Spending time in the water did me good, but…I don't know if I can hold together any more…"

The others had gathered up front.

"What about the ocean labs?" Logan was saying. "All Davor's stuff must still be there. We've gotta destroy it in case some other bright spark tries to carry on his work."

"The labs have been destroyed," Annie said. "We don't know what caused it, possibly explosives Davor left there himself. There were humans attacking the base just as we left. They must have been caught in the blast."

"There's no way they could have survived," Gary agreed.

Dominic suddenly looked over, "What about my brother?"

"Eh?"

Cassie stood with her arm around Dominic's waist, and she frowned, "Are you talking about Recyclo?"

"He was there! I saw him! He was in the ocean labs!"

"Helios," she said gently. "It would have been an illusion."

"No, no, it wasn't an illusion! It was real! He was there; I saw him!"

"No, Dominic…he's dead. I know you want him to be alive so you can try and turn him back, but he's gone."

"No! I _saw_ him!"

Scott shook his head, "I'm sorry, Dominic. We all saw or heard things we desperately wanted to be real. Davor was playing with our deepest feelings and emotions. Maybe you thought you saw your brother, but you know he's gone."

Dominic stopped for a moment? _Had_ Recyclo been real? Could he have been an illusion?

"But…" he began. "He helped me find stuff on the computers. The information about the submarine, it was Recyclo who found that. I mean, _I _couldn't have done it. And Marina was out of it by then."

Scott sighed, "Don't forget, Davor wanted us to go after the sub. He was using it as a distraction to get us away from the ocean labs. He would have wanted you to find that information. He used an illusion of your brother to…"

But Dominic wasn't listening any more. He was still haunted by the image of his brother in his mind. He'd left Recyclo behind in the computer lab while the rest of them went after the submarine. Recyclo had promised to find what more information he could on Davor and the constantium. That was the last Dominic had seen of him. Had he died in the explosions that destroyed the ocean labs? Or had he never been real at all? Had he died the way they'd thought, buried underneath a ton of falling machinery as Gary and Annie ended the Apocalypse?

Cassandra gently put an arm around his shoulders and squeezed him. Dominic looked at her, and gave her a sad smile. She said nothing, just wanted to let him know she was there for him. Dominic thought furiously. Had Recyclo been real? Would Dominic ever know for sure? If he had been real, could Dominic have saved him from the explosion? Was it his fault his brother was dead? He didn't know. And now, how could he ever know?


	30. Epilogue

A/N: Huge apologies that it's taken so long to get this up. Other things have encroached on my freedom to write.

* * *

"So that is the situation as it stands," said Scott from the head of the table. "Amazingly, Davor's actions have actually led towards peace rather than war."

"How? I don't understand," said Rogue.

"Because the humans realised that the submarine would destroy them all. They had to work together to try and stop it. In the end, they succeeded. It took some of the finest minds in America, Britain and Europe to frantically cobble together a copy of Davor's signal to send to the submarine, to force it to stop."

"Relations between the three powers are improving," Chloe said happily. "The nuclear treaty has been signed by all parties. It seems the US President suddenly changed his mind just after Davor's base was destroyed. As far as we know, Davor had some method of controlling him."

"Davor wanted the nuclear disarmament treaty to be rejected?" said Storm.

"We don't know. We may never know for sure. We can only assume that Neil's father had various projects and other secrets that might have been uncovered if the US had decided to shut down their nuclear program."

"But what about the rest of his eleven conspirators?" asked Iceman. "What's become of them?"

"Well, at least one of them is dead," said Dominic. "Major Devant, the man who led the attack on the school. He was killed at the ocean labs. We still don't know what happened to him. It could have been my brother."

"Um, Dominic..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, you all think Recyclo's dead. But I don't. I know I really saw him. I know he wasn't an illusion. I don't know if he survived, but I'm not giving him up for dead yet."

"What about the rest of the Twelve?" said Logan.

"As far as we can tell, they're lying low and pretending it never happened," said Scott. "To be honest, there's no way to prove anything against them. And I don't think they were ever as dangerous as Davor. They were simply opportunists who were offered the chance of attaining something that money and power could never buy them."

"Eternal life..." said Neil. "You know, it would have worked. My father was utterly corrupted and probably insane, but he was still a genius. His research ideas always worked. He gave mutant powers to ordinary human beings. He created immortal creatures that fed on radiation rather than food and oxygen. I have no doubt that constantium would have allowed him to live forever. He would have got away with all of this, if he hadn't become over-confident and started posing as Magneto. Attracting our attention - and Mystique's - turned out to be his downfall."

Pyro spoke up, "What about Elena Cartëasis? She was one of the Twelve. She was also Gemini's mother, once, long ago - is she still alive?"

"We don't know," said Annie. "We know she was in the ocean labs, because Gemini saw her. We don't know if she got out before the explosions went off."

"But what will become of the constantium?" Kurt asked. "Clearly, none of it has been destroyed, since that would be impossible."

"The high-purity samples were with Davor on the jet when he crashed into the cliffs," said Chris. "If not destroyed, they're lost somewhere in the Atlantic ocean."

"And the submarine?"

Scott said, "That's actually another piece of surprisingly good news. We were afraid that once the sub was captured, the humans would fight over which of them got to keep it. After all, it was captured in American waters by a British ship, using German state-of-the-art transmitting equipment. Fortunately, the world powers have taken the peaceful option, and handed it to the UN. A multinational research group is being set up to study it."

"Does this mean our fight's over?" asked Chloe. "We've been fighting against Davor and his various brainchilds for the past twenty years. Now he's gone. Magneto's gone. We'll still experience hostility from humans, but there won't be anybody else bent on destroying the peace we're trying to create between ourselves and humankind. Day has finally broken over the world, after the longest and darkest night."

"Very poetic," said Logan dryly. "But I think you're right."

Fliss nodded, "The humans won't hate us forever. I think things are finally going to get better."

"I wouldn't be so sure," said Oculus.

Logan glanced over at him, "Well, you would say that, wouldn't you?"

"Yes...I suppose I would..."

* * *

Gemini remembered how she had felt the last time she had been sitting in this office. How long ago had it been? A day? Two? Three? So much had happened to her; her mind had been subjected to so many terrifying and upsetting experiences, it wasn't easy for her to keep track of time. Her traumatic past had once again been opened up, suppressed memories brought back to the forefront of her mind, along with the haunting knowledge that the one responsible for her hellish experiences was still alive and walking on the Earth. 

But now the monstrous Davor Rosiçky had finally been destroyed. Despite his apparent invincibility through the use of his illusory powers and his indestructible constantium, he had at last been brought to justice. Something inside Gemini told her she was still a little too young and innocent to really comprehend how close Davor had come to succeeding in his plans for immortality, and just what that would have meant for the world.

She wondered exactly what his mistake had been, the very first mistake that had eventually led to his downfall. He sure hadn't made too many. His plans had proceeded perfectly for, what, thirty years? She looked across the desk at Oculus as she waited for the golden-eyed X-Man to finish reading his papers and speak to her.

It had started with Oculus. He'd been Davor's first experimental subject. His life had been changed forever by the monster's experiments.

_We have that much in common, I guess_, Gemini thought, _I never realised before. He wasn't even born a mutant. He was born human, just like anybody else. He should have just been an ordinary person, without any part in this fight. He should have led an ordinary life, married an ordinary girl, and had ordinary kids. If he hadn't been changed into a mutant, there would be no Crusader, there would be no Gladiator...the Horsemen would have destroyed the world, and Davor would have lived for ever._

_He was Davor's biggest mistake. Everything Davor has done or created has turned out for evil. The Horsemen, constantium, his mutation experiments, his influence over governments and billionaires...all of it has just hurt and killed and destroyed people. Except Oculus. He's the only good thing that's come out of any of it. And in the end, he was the one who destroyed Davor. Although Davor wasn't a mutant, he still passed on powers of a sort to his son. His intelligence, his guile, his talent for deception...it's all there, inside Oculus. I can see that now. Davor made the mistake of creating a child who had the same abilities as he did, and who in the end used those abilities to destroy the monster._

_I've never understood Oculus. Maybe I'm still young, but I just can't fathom him in the way I can other people. He never seems to be happy. He never smiles. He never gets excited. I always thought that he simply didn't care, that he wouldn't bat an eyelid if one of us got hurt. Obviously now I know that isn't true. He's risked his life and everything to protect us from his father's madness. But I still don't get him, what drives him, what makes him do what he does. He doesn't seem to be interested in the same things other people are. Almost as if he knows something we don't. But what?_

_That's why I'm here. That's what I'm going to ask him_.

As if on cue, Oculus looked up and moved his papers to one side.

"Alexandra," he said. "Sorry to have kept you waiting. What can I do for you?"

"I have a question," she said boldly.

"Go on."

Gemini hadn't planned in advance how she was going to word her question. She just said the first thing that came into her mind, "Why are you so different?"

It occurred to her that he might become angry, but she wasn't afraid. She knew he wasn't going to hurt her. At the worst he would tell her to get out of his office, and she could handle that.

"That's not really a question I can answer quickly or easily," he said. "The way a person lives their life depends on the values they base their life upon, values such as: what's right and wrong; what needs to be protected; what needs to be improved, and so on."

Gemini nodded. That seemed fair enough. Oculus went on, "If you look at someone like my father, it's obvious that his set of values was all wrong. He cared about his research and nothing else. Everything else in his life had been pushed out: his family; his friends; his interests; his sense of right and wrong. He ignored any laws and regulations that got in his way. He didn't care who got hurt or whose life was ruined as a result of his actions. He didn't, for instance, believe in protecting children and preparing them for the future. He simply saw them as tools to use in his research."

She nodded grimly, "I guess you and I know that better than anyone."

"Yes. Anyway, we don't need to talk about him any more. He was just an example of what I was trying to say. He lived his life by a set of values that made him dangerous to the rest of us. Of course, most people aren't like him. They live their lives according to a moral code of behaviour that is acceptable to the rest of society. These moral codes are more or less reflective of the laws of the country they happen to live in. Most Americans, for example, are happy to align their moral code with the laws by which their country is governed, laws prohibiting acts such as murder, theft, and so on."

Gemini nodded once more. He continued, "The problem is that laws change. Society changes. As that happens, people find their moral code must change also, or they risk being seen as outcasts from society. Many people will often base their opinions simply on what they perceive the majority to believe."

"Is that why so many people hate mutants?" she asked. "Because they think everyone else does?"

"Exactly. High profile figures in the media and on television are capable of manipulating people's minds that way, making them believe there is some 'majority view' that they must conform with."

"That's why Davor had a newspaper mogul as part of his inner circle?"

"Yes. Unfortunately, for the reason I've just given, those who base their values on the society around them are never going to possess a stable and unchanging set of moral rules which they can live by. Perhaps that's why you perceive me as being 'different' from the others that you know. I draw my moral code from a different source."

"Which is?" she asked curiously.

Oculus reached towards the shelf behind him and picked up a book. He handed it across the desk to Gemini, who took it. It was a Bible.

She'd never read it before. There had been a Bible in the house when she was very small, before her father had died, and he had taken her to church a few times. After his death that had stopped, and this was the first time since then a Bible had been put in front of her. It wasn't really a surprise that Oculus had one; she knew that he and his family usually held a church service of sorts in one of the classrooms on a Sunday morning.

As a teenager she'd never really had much time for religion. It just seemed to be something people used as an excuse to gain power or commit atrocities. She'd never known anybody who took a serious interest in it...until now, anyway. What he'd said about people basing their moral beliefs on the majority view had certainly struck a chord with her. She'd always believed in judging things as she herself experienced them. While her first instinct was to disregard the Bible in front of her, she decided there was no harm in giving it a fair hearing. If it turned out to be nonsense, she could dismiss it. She flicked the Bible open at random and read a couple of sentences. She didn't really know where to start.

"I guess I'll give it a look," she said. "Like, later. Can I borrow this?"

"Yes, if you like."

There was another knock at the door. They both looked up to see Helios' head appearing in the doorway.

"Oculus?" said the boy, tugging nervously at his gloves. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

He entered, and took the seat beside Gemini.

"I was wondering if I could ask you a favour," the solar mutant began. "A pretty big one, in fact."

"What is it?"

Helios sighed, "I know you don't like doing it, but...I want you to use Cerebro. I want you to use Cerebro to find my brother. I have to know if he's still alive. I have to know if what I saw in the ocean labs was real, or if it was just an illusion. I can't go on with my life without knowing. It's going to haunt me forever."

"You want me to use Cerebro?"

"Yeah."

"I don't have to do that."

Dominic blinked, "I know you don't. I didn't mean to sound as if there was some sort of obligation; I just meant - "

Oculus raised a hand to stop him, "You misunderstand me. I don't need to use Cerebro in order to know your brother is still alive."

"What? I don't understand."

"Think about it. Take all the facts we have and the unanswered questions, and put them together."

The Londoner frowned, "I dunno. Can't you just tell me?"

"Who else was at the ocean labs? Apart from us and Davor, and the humans."

"Recyclo?"

"Other than him."

It was Gemini who answered, "You mean Mystique?"

"Yes," said Oculus. "I think she's been caring for him."

"What makes you think that?" the girl said in confusion.

"As I said, I'm just going over the facts we have. We know Mystique was tracking Recyclo at the time of his apparent death, when the Horsemen were destroyed."

"But he was killed," she said. "Wasn't he? I thought Gladiator said a ton of machine parts fell on top of him."

"True, but that was the last we know. We don't know for certain that he was killed. It's possible he used his power to protect himself. He could have created a shield, or perhaps a lighter-than-air gas to push the debris away from him."

"And you think Mystique found him still alive?"

"Possibly. That's just guesswork on my part. It's perhaps more likely that he was recaptured by Davor, and Mystique managed to set him free. I think something must have changed inside him, or he would simply have attacked her straight away. His mind would have been very fragile, and it's possible something shifted inside, and he no longer wanted to kill everything he laid eyes on."

"Is that all you have to go on?" said Gemini dubiously.

"No. There's a few questions we haven't answered. Whose scent was it Logan picked up alongside Mystique's after that time she met you outside the café? Who was responsible for the deaths of those soldiers in the prison where you were kept? Why did Logan smell the same scent there? How did Acceleratus manage to get in there and set you free without being captured on the spot? Obviously something else was going on in the prison that distracted attention away from her."

"You think it was my brother?" Dominic asked. "You think he's with Mystique? You think he was helping her fight Davor?"

"Yes. Recyclo must know that Davor is the one responsible for his tortured past. Perhaps that was how Mystique managed to convince him to side with us."

Helios looked at the older man, "Do you think he's still alive? Or was he killed in the ocean labs when the explosives went off? I left him in the computer room..."

"Mystique's caring for him. She'd have made sure he got out safely."

"Do you think they're together right now? Do you think I can see him again?" he asked eagerly.

"I don't know. I think it's best to leave that up to him."

"Do you think he loves Helios?" Gemini asked innocently.

Oculus nodded, "Oh, yes. Who do you think killed Davor's security commander and healed Dominic's shoulder wound?"

Dominic's hand went to his shoulder where his injury had come and then gone so quickly, "My brother can use his power to heal?"

"I think it's possible for him to do so, yes. Nobody's ever seen him do it before - but surely that's just proof that his nature has changed. He's ready to love and heal as well as hate and kill."

Helios closed his eyes as a tear trickled out. His brother had survived. Recyclo was still alive, and was out there somewhere. At that moment Dominic wanted nothing on Earth more than to be with his brother. Born twin mutants with near-identical powers - one creating light, the other matter - separated as infants, one safely adopted by foster parents while the other was captured by the Foolkiller, ignorant of each other's existence for so long, finally meeting in the midst of a three-way battle on a night of madness, and now...

...and now they had the chance to at last be together. Brothers, twins. Nothing could keep them apart any more. Dominic resolved, there and then, that he wouldn't rest until he had found his brother, and helped him complete his recovery. Recyclo could be brought back from his madness, he had no doubt of that. Davor was gone, the long battle was over, and it was time to heal the hurt that had been done.

Oculus stood, "Well, if you'll both excuse me, I have a class to teach. Life must go on, as they say."

The teenagers took that as their cue to leave. Dominic headed for the exit, towards the apple orchards at the rear of the school. There Cassandra would be waiting.

Gemini waited for Oculus as he closed the office door behind him. He was obviously going to one of the classrooms, and she went with them, since her dormitory was in the same direction. She was still holding on to the Bible, and she asked him, "Can this book really change a person's life?"

"Judge for yourself," he said. "How else do you think I was able to convince Recyclo to help us?"

She stopped for a moment, blinking in confusion. Then she found her tongue, "Hold on, wait a minute, you said - "

But he had already turned the corner ahead and disappeared.

* * *

Marina's head broke free of the water and she shook it out of her eyes, easily drifting further out towards the centre of the large natural pool that existed on the estate. She was the only one in the pool at this time of the morning, and she was glad. She did not seek anyone's company at the moment. She needed to be alone to think about things. Ducking back under the surface, she swam down towards the deepest part of the pool. Being in the water made it easier for her to think. Out of the water, she was still haunted by the illusion Davor had forced on her, the dream that her parents were still alive. Without thinking, she'd grabbed it with both hands, deluding herself into thinking her nightmare was over. All of the hard and painful recovery she'd done had been swept away in a moment, as she thought she no longer needed it. 

Now she once more knew that her family were dead. The illusion had been just that: an illusion. She would never see them again, never feel their love for her, never be cared for by her parents or grow up alongside her brother and sister. Marina glided through the water, her bare feet kicking like flippers, moving her as smoothly and gracefully as a dolphin. The illusion had torn her mind to shreds for a second time. She had barely spent a moment out of the water since getting back to the school. In water there was at least some semblance of sanity, some way in which she could handle the pain. Out of water, on the surface with the others, was too much for her.

Marina had no choice. She was no longer able to live on the surface. She couldn't. She didn't think her mind could handle it. It was a life that wasn't hers, and an environment that she couldn't exist in. Like a fish out of water, Marina on the surface struggled weakly to survive, and ultimately couldn't. Only down here, in the water, was she at home. She flitted down to the bottom of the pool, breathing easily through her gills, wondering if she had the strength to pull through the heartbreak that was to come.

Because she had to leave Gary. There was no doubt about it. They couldn't be together. She couldn't live up there, and he couldn't live down here. As much as it hurt, they had to separate. There wasn't any other way. She was a fish. And Gary, if he was any animal, was a dragon. The two were incompatible. Their love had been a mistake, and should never have been. It would only have to be forgotten now. It wasn't possible for them to coexist. Fish belonged with other fish. And dragons belonged with other earth-bound creatures. Swimming to the surface again, she gazed up at the endless blue sky above her. She knew she couldn't live under it any more. Her life would now be lived under two skies: the clouds above and the water below.

"Marina!" she heard a voice.

It was Gary. He sat at the side of the pool, waving to her, beckoning her over. She swam towards him. Even with only her head above water, she felt weak and vulnerable, her mind wavering on the brink of instability. She splashed water on herself to calm down.

"Wh - what is it?" she asked.

"I need to tell you something."

Marina shook her head, "I - I'm sorry, Gary. I - it's over b - between us."

He cried out in shock and horror, "What?"

"I'm s - sorry. I can't live w - with you above the w - water. I - I want to stay with you but - but I can't. You - you're asking me to live in a world where I - I can't s - survive."

"No! Marina, don't be too hasty! There's something I have to show you! I promise it will make things different!"

She doubted that, but she was willing to listen. She saw now Gary was holding on to something.

"Wh - what's that?" she stammered, uncomfortable and short of breath with her head out of water.

Leaning closer, he said, "It's something I found in the ocean labs. I think it was one of their research projects. Marina, this is what is going to make our love last forever."

She was dubious, but still intrigued, "Y - yeah?"

He opened the package and showed it to her, "It's an artificial sub-marine respiratory device."

"Y - you mean - "

"It's a bionic set of gills. The Navy developed it for underwater exploration or warfare, I would guess. It's a prototype. I discovered it in the ocean labs, while we were hunting for Davor."

Her eyes suddenly widened with shock, "G - Gary, this m - means - "

Smiling, he nodded, "I can have these implanted into my own body. I've looked into it; it'll take some complex surgery, but my healing power will help. After that I can breathe underwater, like you. We can stay together, forever, in your world."

"You - you'd do that for - for me?"

"Marina - of course I would. You're the one who's been strong for so long now, struggling with your painful memories and trying to survive up here when you're not suited for it. The least I can do is give you a bit of that back."

For the first time since the illusion, she smiled.

"I love you," she whispered, without stammering.

She rose up as he leaned further forward, their arms encircling each other and their lips meeting in a perfect kiss. Marina's head and shoulders were clear of the surface of the water, but for the moment she felt no discomfort, wrapped as she was in the love she shared with her boyfriend. He gently flicked a strand of wet hair from in front of her eyes. She playfully splashed him with water, and then he leaned too far forward and the two of them sank beneath the surface of the pool.

Under the water they kissed, holding each other tightly, Marina breathing for Gary. It hadn't been an easy decision for him to make, to live his life with Marina under the water, but he knew it was a choice he had to make. He had always told himself he would give anything and everything to make her happy, and this was the time to show that he meant it. He didn't know what a subterranean life would bring; he couldn't even begin to guess. It didn't really matter. Marina would be there, the supreme creature of the sea, who could protect him and guide him through whatever might happen. As he had done for her, now she would do for him.

She was guiding both of them to the surface now, and Gary breathed oxygen as his head broke through the water.

"What's up?" he asked. "I thought you'd want to stay down there..."

Marina smiled, "Oh, I - I just wanted to tell you that the answer to your question is 'Yes'."

"Uh, what question?"

"You remember...the one that went something like 'Marina, will you marry me?'"

"Oh - that one."

Gary looked deep into Marina's eyes. So many times he had lost himself in those bottomless wells of heavenly green. Now he was going in deeper than he had ever done before, directly into her world and her very essence. Water was Marina's life, her inheritance, her family's legacy. What Davor had taken from her, Gary would now endeavour to replace. He knew he was bidding farewell to the surface and the life he had there. But there was nothing up there that was irreplaceable, or that was more important than Marina. He was prepared to sacrifice it all, just to be with her. He no longer wanted to fight, to compete, to prove himself, to let his anger burn. All he wanted now was life and love with his aquatic angel. He had nearly lost her once. Nothing would ever keep them apart again.

* * *

The dam was going to rupture any second. There was nothing that could prevent it, nothing to hold back the countless volume of water that would explode outwards at the instant the dam's structural integrity finally gave way. Directly in its path was the stranded X-jet, too badly damaged to take off, but whose passengers were too exhausted or badly injured to get to safety any other way. It was a hopeless situation, one in which there seemed to be no chance of survival. 

It was a moment when a woman who was desperately tired, and wounded - both physically and psychologically - decided the only possible way of escape was to sacrifice her own life to get her friends to safety. It was a decision made in a matter of seconds; there was no time to ponder it any more deeply. She knew she was leaving them behind. She knew there would never be a chance for them to thank her, or a chance for her to find out if there had been another way out. She pushed those thoughts away, and concentrated on rescuing her friends. That was all that mattered. She knew she was going to die trying. All she wished now was that she would die in the knowledge she had saved them. Dying knowing she had failed, or perhaps worse, dying without knowing either way, would be too much to bear.

There was sudden consternation and an explosion of emotion from inside the jet as she sensed they had realised her absence. They would try to stop her; she knew that. She couldn't let them. There was no other way for them to survive. They wouldn't understand. Scott would never understand. To him, the idea of letting someone go on and die alone, even to save lives, was not acceptable. Nor would Logan understand. Both of them loved her too dearly to allow her to give herself like this.

_Professor, you know why I have to do this_, she sent, _tell them there is no other way. Tell them I'm sorry. Tell them goodbye_.

The dam looked ready to disintegrate under the force of the deluge behind it. Jean braced herself. This was it. She had only seconds left to live. She sensed Logan urging Kurt - the teleporter - to grab her, but she couldn't allow that to happen. She needed every last second to prepare herself. Forcing her telepathic will into Kurt's mind, she forbade him from using his power. This was it. This was the end.

The five figures who stood atop the canyon's edge looked down in horror. Surely the dam could not hold any longer. Surely the people trapped in the damaged aircraft, and the woman outside, were doomed to die. Surely it was only a matter of seconds before they were pulverised and blown away by the force of the flood.

One of them knew exactly what was going to happen. He knew the woman was going to sacrifice herself for her friends. He knew there was nothing she could do to preserve her own life as well. There was nothing anybody could do.

Or at least, there hadn't been back then. Back when this had happened the first time. That was why they were here. Scott Summers glanced for a moment at the four students he had brought with him, to check they were ready. Each of them was looking at him, waiting for the signal...the signal to do what Scott Summers had dreamed of almost every minute for the past sixteen years.

To go back in time and save Jean Grey's life.

He looked at Chronos. The boy was crouched, breathing hard, still recovering from the strain of getting them here. Scott let him rest. Ian's part was done for the immediate future. Cyclops looked at his watch. He knew exactly when the dam would rupture. The hour, the minute and the second had been burned into his memory for all time. What they were about to do had to be calculated to perfection. Not only had they to save Jean, they had to do it in such a way that she wasn't aware of their doing it. They were here to change the past for the better, not to screw it up completely. It was absolutely imperative that nobody from the past had even the slightest inkling of the time travellers' part in this.

That was why Crusader was here. Somebody had to keep both Xavier and Jean's telepathic senses from detecting the rescuers from the future. It wasn't an easy task - some might have said impossible - but with the Professor and Jean fully distracted by their own peril, Scott was confident that Annie could keep them ignorant for the few minutes it would take.

"All right," he said to the other two students. "When I give the signal, I want you to begin."

Both of them nodded in silent acknowledgement. Scott studied his watch, waiting for the second hand to tick round to exactly the right moment. There was no danger that he had miscalculated. He had worked this out a thousand times before. Over the years he had studied maps of the terrain, and pored over the jet's flight recorder to calculate exactly how a rescue might have been accomplished. Of course it had been a useless exercise, without any way to travel back in time. But now, with Chronos, his impossible dream had become a realistic prospect. All he had to do was make sure it became a realised one.

"All right," he said softly, counting down the seconds. "Atlas...now!"

The earth mutant stood, holding out his arms as he focussed his power on the massive stone structure of the crumbling dam. Collapse was imminent. The tiniest extra pressure and the entire barrier would give way. Atlas gritted his teeth, braced himself, and pushed the enormous stone edifice back against the water.

It wasn't enough. He was too far away and the water pressure was too great. He felt his power slipping, and he knew the dam was about to go.

"I can't...hold it...any longer," he breathed.

Scott nodded calmly. The dam had been on the brink of destruction. He hadn't expected Atlas to hold it up for more than a few seconds. It was all worked into his calculations. The dam had to collapse, to preserve the past that Scott remembered. With a last pained gasp, Atlas lost the battle, and the massive stone barrier erupted in an avalanche of water. Cyclops looked at his watch. It had worked, exactly as he had planned. They had gained seven seconds. Seven seconds extra for Jean to get the jet safely into the air, before the tidal wave swept her to oblivion.

"Aqua, get ready," Scott told her. "When I tell you, start controlling the water around Jean to protect her. She'll hold it off herself until the jet is safely airborne...after that she won't be able to keep the water back any longer.

"Y - you got it."

_It's going to work_, Scott said to himself with growing excitement, _it's going to work. I'm going to have her at my side again. It's going to be me and Jean, together again, just as it should have been. Just as it would have been if Rosiçky and Stryker hadn't interfered in our lives. We've conquered both of them now. This is our final victory._

"Now, Aqua."

At the exact second Jean finally gave in to her exhaustion and stopped using her telekinesis to push back the flood, Marina's mastery of the water suddenly took hold of the torrent, forcing it to flow around Jean, leaving her untouched and unharmed. Dr Grey had lost consciousness and fallen to the ground, but she was not in any danger. By the time the jet had disappeared and the flood had settled, Scott had signalled to Marina once more. The final, and potentially the most difficult, part of the rescue now had to be carried out.

Gently and carefully, the aquanoid raised Jean's unmoving body to the surface of the water. At that point Annie took over, using her mind to lift Jean to the top of the canyon where they stood.

"She is alive, right?" asked Atlas.

"Yes," said Scott.

"Can she hear us?"

"No. She's unconscious. Annie?"

Taking a deep breath, Annie knelt down beside Jean, and placed her hands on the older woman's forehead. Scott knew Jean had emptied herself, and there would be no resistance to Annie's intrusion into her mind. A few minutes passed in silence, then Annie stood, "It's done."

Scott nodded, and finally allowed himself to breathe a deep sigh of relief, "Thank you. Thank you all of you. I can't ever repay this debt. Chronos? Let's go before she wakes up."

"Right."

And now she would be safe. Jean would obey the instructions Annie had implanted deep into her mind. She wouldn't argue or question them. She would do as Scott intended. She would hide herself away from the world, unknown and unseen, until it was time. Time for her to come back to him. Sixteen years into her future, the future she would now have, and she would be with Scott again. Everything had worked exactly as he had intended. He had achieved the impossible. He had travelled back in time to change events that would affect his life, and he had done it without messing up the past in any way. His younger self would never know what had just been done. In sixteen years he would dream up the plan and carry it out, thinking it to be his own idea.

Scott allowed himself an ironic smile. Even for him, it was hard to get his mind around this stuff. He was the younger Scott from sixteen years ago, who had just thought up this plan, thinking it to be his own invention. But it wasn't. It was the idea of the Scott who had travelled back in time when he was a young man. Which meant...and of course...but it didn't really matter in the end, because...

...because she's not here.

He woke to the terrible emptiness and loneliness of his room back in the mansion. He'd had the dream again. He'd saved Jean's life in his imagination for the ten millionth time. Scott lay back and sighed deeply, staring at the ceiling through his night-visor. Would it work? Was it possible? His dreams had always been pure fantasies before, but this one...there was at least a grain of possibility in it. If Chronos could be convinced to take him back to the past...if he was even capable of it...if Atlas and Aqua would agree to lend their elemental powers to the effort...if Annie was willing to use her telepathy to effectively enslave Jean's defenceless mind.

Scott sighed again. No. It wasn't quite right yet. It was still just a fantasy, skipping happily far from the boundary of possibility. There were still too many uncertainties and unlikelihoods. But he was getting closer. He was getting closer to achieving the impossible and changing the past. One day. One day he'd work it out to perfection. It didn't matter what it took. It didn't matter what sacrifices had to be made. It was possible. It was going to work.

Wait a minute. Scott sat upright in bed. What was he thinking? Of course it mattered what it took, and what sacrifices had to be made! He couldn't put his own desires and wishes ahead of the safety or the wishes of his students and his friends! What had come over him? Why had he been so ready to throw caution to the wind and plough headlong into what was still merely a dream? The dream of getting Jean back...

Something felt wrong. Something felt strange. His thoughts weren't working along the paths they normally did. Scott felt a shiver rise up his spine. It was as if a shadow fell across the already darkened room. Was it just his imagination or were things suddenly not what they seemed?

Davor was gone...wasn't he?


	31. Deep Blue

**Somewhere, sometime in the future...**

Two figures flitted through the water near the surface, hands clasped together, swimming using only their feet. Diving down towards the ocean bed, they came together, arms slipping around each other, lips pressing tightly against one another, sharing a kiss. Breathing through their gills, they had no need to part for air, and the kiss continued as they stroked their way effortlessly down to the sandy bottom.

Gary and Marina Rosiçky had begun their new life together, living beneath the surface of the water, where no hatred or trauma or death could reach them. Here was only peace and tranquillity, and each other, sharing their love together for ever and ever.

Overhead, the sun shone down on the endless azure blue.


End file.
